


For All The World

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: Don't Let's Start [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5 Things, 5 Times, Friendship, Gen, Hunk Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Kuron Whump, Minor Injuries, Slice of Life, Very minor don't get your hopes up, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-14 20:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13597857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: 567 times Ryou helped someone on the team...





	1. Allura

The sound of garbled speech running together made Ryou pause.  He tilted his head, not quite sure if it was actually as messed up as it sounded, or if the translator had failed and he was hearing some kind of alien language.  
  
Nope, couldn't tell.  Could go either way.   
  
Taking several steps backwards, Ryou opened the door to the rec room.  From here, he could see the back of the couch, and a familiar head of fluffy white hair.  In front of Allura, one of the giant projected screens showed two people - two humans - speaking.  But they moved far too quickly, and their voices came out pitched, the syllables slurring into unintelligible nonsense.   
  
Finally, it paused, and the scene resumed playing normally.     
  
"-ou have to listen to me."  Said the raggedy looking man in the trench coat.  He swirled a glass of liquor nervously.  "This is going to go down by the stadium, and-"   
  
"I already have my people down there," replied the woman, scowling him down.  Her hair was pulled down into a severe ponytail, and her lips into a more severe frown.  "But this is a waste of time.  Stay out of this."   
  
On the couch, Allura bounced in place, her thick hair bouncing with the movement.  "Stadium!"  She repeated back in pure satisfaction.   "Yes, that's the word."  Then the scene speed up again, as the characters finished their argument and the scene cut to night time establishing shots.   
  
...Alright.  Ryou was officially curious.   
  
Rather than interrupt, he left the door open behind him, so the noise wouldn't alert Allura.  She must be deeply absorbed to have missed them opening, and he wasn't chancing it again.  Instead, Ryou took several slow steps, heel to toe, as if the metal flooring of the castle would creak.   
  
A leftover Shiro-habit, muscle memory of sneaking around the Garrison and his childhood home.  Technically useless, but amusing enough that Ryou wasn't going to kick himself.  Instead he settled in behind Allura, keeping his breath slow and quiet as he could and waited.   
  
After several more seconds, the movie started up properly again.  The grizzled man from before, now wearing a wide-brimmed hat with his collar pulled up, crept through what looked like an after hours football field.  The stands were covered in deep shadow, but the field itself was lit up brightly.  As he crept closer, a number of silhouettes began to converge, every exaggerated movement screaming 'guilt.'   
  
Allura straightened, her breath catching in what sounded like excitement.   
  
The scene cut, closer to the people on the field.  Now it was clear that one person was bound, their arms cuffed in front of them, and a bag over their head.  They were shoved to their knees in front of someone, only their pants legs and shoes visible.  The camera panned up slowly, revealing the woman from the scene before.  "Seems we have ourselves a snitch," she said.   
  
"Son of a bitch," grunted the grizzled man.  He drew a gun and began to move forward, following the shadows of the stands.   
  
After several seconds more of the drama, Allura finally gave a confused huff.  "I don't understand this," she said, so conversationally that Ryou thought he'd been heard after all.   
  
But there were several squeaks from her lap in response.  Allura's hair bobbed again as she sighed.  "That's what they said, yes, but I don't think this is a very good game at all.  It's not sporting if someone is tied up and blindfolded, is it?  And I don't hear anything about yards, do you?"   
  
Ryou tilted his head, considering.   
  
Then he leaned against the back of the couch.  "What'cha doing?"  He asked, nearly in her ear.   
  
Immediately, Allura's hands reached back and grabbed Ryou by the shirt and yanked.  If the fabric had been Earth-made cotton blend, it would have given right then.  Instead, he was wearing his armor, so instead Ryou was physically dragged off his feet and thrown bodily over the back of the couch.   
  
Yelping, he brought his hands up.  It was just barely in time to catch him before Ryou landed face-first on the ground.  His legs took a second to catch up, landing just above his head and making his whole back curve like a bow, before he collapsed on his side like a broken doll.   
  
"That was dumb," Ryou admitted, face pressed to the cold metal floor. "I deserved that."   
  
"Oh!  Ryou, I’m sorry!"  Allura gasped, then reached down and grabbed Ryou by the waist.  She heaved him upright until he got his feet back up under him, then gave him a sound smack on the shoulders.  "Don't sneak up on me like that!  You startled me!"  Her whole face scrunched with the force of her annoyance.  Behind her on the couch, all four mice were huddled together against the arm.  They chittered in angry agreement.   
  
Ryou gave a thin smile, arching back until his poor back finally cracked.  "No kidding.  Jeez, I feel like a pretzel.  Sorry, Princess."   
  
Allura stayed puffed up for a moment, then finally sighed and stepped back.  "Yes, well, no harm done, I suppose.  I apologize for throwing you like that."   
  
"Nah, don't."  Ryou rolled his shoulders one last time, then offered her a smile.  "It was good reaction time.  I don't want to mess with that.  I was the one who decided to try and startle you, which was pretty stupid.  Especially since I know you can and will kick my ass."  He mimed attacking with a staff like she enjoyed.   
  
Allura frowned deeper at the reference.  "That hardly makes me feel better," she said.  "That was a very hard day on all of us."   
  
Oh, shoot.  "No, no, I wasn't trying- that wasn't guilt.  It's a good thing!"  Ryou ran a hand through his bangs and groaned.  "Look, can we just start over from hi, instead?  I was just curious what you were up to."   
  
Looking over at the screen like she'd forgot all about it, Allura's eyes widened.  "Oh!  Yes.  That.  Well..."  She smoothed her dress out from under her as she sat, then held out her hands for the mice to rejoin her.  "It's nothing, really.  I was just curious."   
  
"About goofy detective movies?"  Ryou sat down on the couch as well, heavily enough that he bounced on the cushion.  "Not really my thing, I'm afraid.  Or, I guess, not really Shiro's thing.   But I might be able to explain some Earth weirdness."   
  
Allura frowned thoughtfully.  "I'm not sure if it's a detective thing or not.  I just-"  She sighed and ran a finger down Chuchule's back.  The resulting chitter drew a smile out of her.  "I've just heard Coran mention some things recently.  About... yards and penalties and such.  He said it was an Earth sport, called 'Foot Balls'."   
  
Immediately, Ryou grinned.  "Oh, yeah, football.  He learned that from me, actually."   
  
"He did?"  Allura's eyes widened.  "Will you explain it to me, then?  I don't understand his references at all, when he says them, and he seems to find it funny to leave me confused."   
  
Ryou let out a bark of laughter and shook his head.  "Really?  That sly old dog."  He covered his eyes with one hand as he snickered.  "He hasn't told you because he doesn't know.  I only explained, like, the one thing to him.   Yards are a unit of measurement, and the goal of football is to get the ball from one side to the other.  When a team breaks the rules in football, they get a penalty.   They 'lose yards' by having the ball be moved back closer to the other team's scoring line."   
  
Allura let out an awed breath of understanding.  "Yes!  He kept telling Lance 'minus ten yards' for his scrubbing technique.  That's all he meant?"   
  
"Yup.  Honestly, you know more about football than Coran does now," Ryou replied, shrugging.  "Unless someone explained more to him.  But I wouldn't be able to say more than that.  It's not really in me."  He tapped at his temple.  It was a surprise Ryou knew as much as he did about the game.  It hadn't exactly been a focus during the years Shiro's memories had been recorded.   
  
Allura nodded slowly, watching the movie again.  "So this is a penalty?"  She nodded to where the grizzled detective was currently struggling with severe pantsuit woman, the both of them rolling across the field as they struggled to get the upper hand to take a shot.   
  
"Oh, no."  Ryou made a face and shook his head.  "That's just at a football stadium.  It has nothing to do with the game, just the physical location.  But those lines are to measure yards, so there's that."   
  
"Oh."   
  
They both watched for several seconds as Severe Woman finally managed to pin Grizzled Detective.  Rather than shoot him like a sensible person, she instead smacked him across the face with her gun.   
  
Allura sighed.  "I suppose I should have just asked after all."   
  
"Eh," Ryou replied.  "You're getting some grade-A cheese out of it.  Besides, I'm not sure Pidge has anything with a real football game in it.  I haven't seen it, anyway.  She's got a lot, but she doesn't have everything.  So it might be a moot point anyway."   
  
Slumping sideways, Allura nodded.  "I suppose I'll have to make do.  I was just frustrated.  Coran can be very annoying when he's in the mood to tease."   
  
Ryou grinned back.  "Yeah, I found that out the hard way.  It took me way too long to figure out his emergency lessons about doing tasks without proper tools were just him screwing with me."   
  
Allura let out a loud snort, glancing up at him.  "Yes, that's a favorite of his.  He once tried to get me to practice calligraphy without the pen."   
  
"How'd you solve that one?"   
  
"I dumped the ink all over the desk."   
  
"Nice."   
  
On screen, Grizzled Detective finally managed to kick off Severe Woman and trained his gun on her, while she spat out an angry monologue about how the world was too cruel and tough and people needed to be cruel to survive.   
  
Where did Pidge even find this nonsense?   
  
Allura hummed thoughtfully.  "Could we play a game of football?  That way we could all know how to play."   
  
"Uh... I mean, probably not a professional one.  That takes a lot of people.  But a pick-up game?"  He paused to consider.  "There's an odd number of us so someone would have to sit out.  Pidge might want to ref instead or something, assuming she actually knows the rules.  But sure.  It won't be exact, but you'll get an idea."   
  
"I'd like that," Allura admitted.  "I enjoyed playing games of sport on Altea.  In my youth, at least.  There wasn't as much time for it once the war began."   
  
Ryou nodded slowly, his chest tightening as he looked down at her.  "That would be harder," he said, voice soft.  "But if we teach you some Earth sports, you should teach us some Altean ones too.  Fair's fair, right?  And sports are usually pretty good physical activity anyway.  We can do it as part of training.  Formations and teamwork and all that."   
  
Allura's lips quirked up, though it wasn't precisely happy.  Her eyes remained on the screen, but they were distant.  "That's a good point.  Something to discuss with Shiro and the rest of the team."   
  
Ryou hummed his agreement.  He hesitated for only a moment before putting his hand on her shoulder.  "When you'd like to, go ahead and bring it up."   
  
There was a nod, but no other response.   
  
Well, this was certainly a fun conversation he'd gotten them into.   
  
Ryou scrambled for something to say.  He couldn't say he understood - the home and world that Ryou really knew or experienced was all here.  Earth was a hazy, distant memory, full of half-answers and vague aspirations.  He hadn't lost it, because he'd never had it in the first place.  Apologizing felt so small for such a vast gulf as losing a world and a family in the same horrible moment.   
  
So instead he backed up farther in the conversation.   
  
"Well, if you're just looking for sports, I might have an answer for you."   
  
It took a couple of seconds for Allura to reply.  "Oh?"  Her voice was perfectly even.  The only thing that gave her away was that she still hadn't looked up.   
  
Ryou held out the hand that wasn't squeezing her shoulder.  "Can I see the pad?"  When Allura handed it over, he pulled up their various media, getting away from Pidge's massive movie and TV show list.  "Some of the Olkarion info dumps was cultural information, right?  I was going through it the other night and I found some footage of something called Gratiplen."   
  
Finally, Allura started to perk up.  Plachu and Platt darted up a shoulder each, nestling on either side of her nap, while she started to pet down Chulatt's back.  "I'm not familiar."   
  
"Me neither," Ryou replied, full of false cheer.  And, yeah, maybe he really was starting to sound like Lance - it was nearly identical to his tone when he was trying to make someone smile.  "But there's two teams and... I think three balls?"  He pulled up the footage and let a few seconds play.  "Maybe four."   
  
Allura sat up fully, tossing her head slightly.  Despite her lapse, there wasn't a hint of tears or even redness to her eyes.  "That sounds interesting, at least.  You want to watch it?"   
  
"Yes and no."  Ryou turned to her, giving a fanged smile.  "Pick your team.  Winner has to take a dare.  You in?"   
  
Immediately, Allura's eyes flashed.  She meet Ryou's gaze, eyes running from the tip of his hair down to his knees, as if sizing him up.   
  
Then she stuck out her hand, she smiled as well.  Her teeth had all gone pointed.  "Agreed."   
  
Ryou shook back firmly.  "Now pick."   
  
***   
  
"No, nono no no!"  Ryou groaned and covered his face with both hands as a loud buzzer filled the rec room.   
  
Next to him, Allura pumped both fists in the air and let out a loud whoop.  She'd tied her hair up in a fluffy cloud of a ponytail behind her, now colored bright blue to match her team.  It nearly smacked Ryou on the back of the head as she cheered.  "I believe I'm five goals ahead now, am I not?  Oh, no, I apologize, that was six.  How silly of me."   
  
Ryou peeked through his fingers to glare at her.  "The game's not over yet," he growled back, but it wasn't convincing even to his own ears.  "They can still turn this around."   
  
"It's halfway through the eighth cycle," Allura pointed out, utterly cheery.   
  
"Yes, but-"   
  
"The lunar ball is out of their possession."   
  
"That doesn't mean-"   
  
"They have not scored a single goal this game."   
  
Ryou let out a pained moan and curled in on himself.  "How did they not see that interception coming?"   
  
Laughing gleefully, Allura patted Ryou on the head and ruffled the pale strands.  "I will be merciful in my victory," she told him, all dramatic majesty.   
  
Another buzz on screen made them both watch again.  Allura's face fell as Ryou's eyes brightened.     
  
"YES!"  Ryou surged to his feet and twisted in a little circle, arms spread.  "What was that, Princess?  I thought they hadn't scored all game?"   
  
Allura scoffed back, eyes now narrowed darkly.  "It's just one goal," she shot back, now much more aggressively.  "Your team still has no chance.  There's less than half a varga left!"   
  
Head tilted, Ryou grinned down at her, high on the sheer hope of victory.  "Why, Allura, you sound scared."   
  
"I am not!"  Allura puffed up like a cat faced with a water bottle.  "Even if I believed your sorry team had even the slightest chance of victory, I have little to fear from your dare."   
  
Ryou's smile just grew as his eyes darkened.  "Oh, really?  Are you confusing me for my brother?  Because, trust me, I won't go easy on you because you're a princess."   
  
"Shiro had best not go easy on me!"   
  
"What are you two yelling about?"   
  
Ryou and Allura both froze, then turned to look at the still-open door.  Lance stood in the doorway, brows up as he glanced between them both.  Allura's blue hair made him pause, but he quickly took it in stride and moved on.   
  
Arms crossed, Allura set her jaw.  "Ryou is a poor loser."   
  
"Allura is a poor winner," Ryou shot back.   
  
"So you admit I'll win!"   
  
Shit.  "No, that's not-"   
  
Lance held up his hands as he stepped over to the couch.  "Woah, woah, enough.  You're going to scare the poor mice."  He offered a palm, letting Platt climb aboard and curl into a little ball.   
  
Ryou eyed the mound of yellow fur, unimpressed.  "Didn't those mice kill a Galra soldier?"   
  
There was a distinctly amused chitter from within Allura's hair.   
  
"Seriously, I could hear you two from down the hall."  Lance eyed them both, then glanced up at the game.  Immediately, his brows furrowed as he watched the two sets of Olkarions try to shapeshift and manipulate the various balls into different positions.  "What is that?"   
  
"Gratiplen," Ryou replied.  "And it's fine.  All in good fun, right, Allura?"   
  
"Absolutely," she agreed, hands now folded daintily in her lap.  But when she spoke, her teeth were still visibly pointed.  "I apologize if our volume rose too much.  We're merely jok-" A buzzer cut through her words as Ryou's team managed a second goal.  "Quiznak!"   
  
Ryou cackled in pure, spiteful glee.  "I told you!  I told you!"   
  
"You're four scores behind still, Shirogane.  Don't get smug with me!"   
  
Finally giving up on his scolding act, Lance hopped the back of the couch and settled in next to Allura.  "I didn't know you two were such sports nuts."   
  
The pair of them shared a glance.  "Not really?"  Ryou replied.  "I- well, shit, actually.  I don't know.  Shiro's not really a 'watch the game on TV' kinda guy.  I've never had the chance."   
  
Allura nodded slowly.  "It was never a focus of mine.  Sports were an outlet when my other duties were  often so sedentary, as a child.  Merely watching would have harmed more than hurt.  But this as been... engaging."   
  
"That's one word for it."   
  
Lance's brows rose as he glanced between them both.  There was a warmth to his gaze, like they'd managed to please him without meaning to.  "Well, you both get plenty of real life action, now.  Some simulated combat is probably a good way to let off steam."   
  
That wasn't inaccurate.  Ryou watched the game with half an eye.  "I suppose so."  But then he cracked a grin.  "Mostly, I think we're both just very competitive."   
  
Allura let out a laugh.  "That sounds right too."  They shared a smile, friendly but with a vicious twist.   
  
"The pair of you working together is honestly terrifying," Lance said, though his eyes still held that same warmth.   
  
Ryou reached over Allura's head to ruffle Lance's hair.  "Just be glad we're on the same team most of the time."   
  
"Agreed."   
  
"Fifty ticks left!"  Allura announced, straightening up.  "Best prepare yourself for the inevitable, Ryou."   
  
Wait what?  It hadn't been-   
  
Oh, no.   
  
Ryou watched in horror as the timer clicked away at the bottom, rapidly dropping toward zero.   Next to him, Allura's fists pumped on each second, and her grin grew steadily wiser.   
  
Just seconds before the game ended, one of Ryou's players reeled back and punched, hitting the solar ball toward its hoop.   
  
Despite the fact that it wouldn't change anything, Ryou still held his breath, near vibrating with hope as-   
  
It was knocked out of the way by a player in bright blue.   
  
"No!"  Ryou howled, just as Allura let out a victorious cry.  The final buzzer sounded, as the blue figures on screen lept and cheered in victory.   
  
Lance watched them both, shaking his head in amusement.  "You're both nuts.  I can't believe you both got so into this so fast."   
  
"I made a terrible mistake," Ryou said, still buried in his hands.   
  
Grin growing, Allura nodded.  "You did.  Your mistake was thinking you could best me."   
  
"Lance.  Lance, my friend.  My ally.  The one who I can always rely on.  Please.  I need you to be my mercy angel."   
  
"I-"  Lance froze, his smile falling away.  "What?"   
  
Ryou gave him his best puppy dog eyes, wishing his bangs were still long enough to hang mournfully in his face.  "Kill me.  It would be a kindness.  Release me from this hell."   
  
Allura poked him on the side of the head.  "This wager was your idea.  Don't try to get out of it now.  Lance, I order you not to kill Ryou."   
  
"Yeah, not going to have trouble with that one.  You two made a bet?"   
  
Ryou moaned pitifully.   
  
"As victor, I'm owed one dare," Allura said, smiling like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.  "I promise to be just and fair as he deserves."   
  
Visibly biting back a laugh, Lance nodded.  "Ah.  Try not to kill him, then, alright?  It took us a long time to train a second Shirogane, let's not put that to waste."   
  
"Oh, no, he won't die.  He'll merely wish he did."  Allura gave Ryou a delicate pat on the head, like he was one of her mice.  "We'll have a lot of fun."   
  
Despite having lost - which deeply sucked - Ryou smiled into the couch cushions.  It was dramatic, yes, but without consequence.  Or, rather, without significant consequence.  With so many heavy decisions on their shoulders, it was nice to have one outcome where the only thing that mattered was pride.   
  
Lance hummed thoughtfully.  "You know, whenever we land, there's that one field off to the west that we've never been to.  I wonder if it's for this Glax-whatever or something else?   
  
"Gratiplen."   Ryou picked up his head, blinking rapidly.  He was pretty sure he knew the one Lance was talking about.  It was only a couple of stories tall, but spanned not quite the length of a football field, which would be the right dimensions.  "Maybe.  Might be worth looking into."   
  
"When we have the free time on Olkarion, which isn't often."  But Allura was nodding as well.  "I would be interested in knowing for sure.  Watching it in person would be a different experience than these recordings."   
  
Lance offered them a hopeful smile.  "And maybe you could root for the same team, even?"   
  
Ryou and Allura shared a glance.   
  
Then, as one, they scoffed.   
  
"Where's the fun in that?" Ryou asked.   
  
But despite that, there was a deep warmth in his chest, along with a growing buzz of excitement.   
  
Maybe Shiro had never been that interested in sports broadcasting, but Ryou could see the appeal.   
  
That appeal was friends to watch it with.   
  
And if it gave them an excuse to be silly and loud without consequence, especially so soon after Allura shared a personal memory, then it was worth the time.   
  
Looking at Allura's smug, bright smile and her flushed cheeks, Ryou resolved to lose as many times as it took to keep her this happy.   
  
(Provided he won at least some of the time.)


	2. Hunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this was supposed to be out yesterday, but I had company over so that didn't happen. Whoops!

Ryou sat back on his heels and sighed.  “I’m sorry, Hunk.  I don’t think this is going to work.”

The hopefully look in Hunk’s eyes immediately drained away as his shoulders slumped.  He reached down to palm over his ankle, wincing.  “Are you sure?  I doesn’t hurt that bad.  I think I can-”  He tried to put his weight on it to stand, but it immediately buckled and he went back down.  “Ow!”

“Hey!”  Ryou gave him a swat on the knee, which he doubted Hunk could feel at all through his armor.  “Cut that out.  You’re going to make it worse.  I don’t think it’s a bad break, but we don’t need to test that, alright?”

Hunk’s jaw set stubbornly, and he eyed Ryou through his bangs.  “So, what, we’re just supposed to sit here for a rescue while everyone else could be in trouble?”

It was all a little absurd.  Their job had literally been to walk back after sabotaging the shield keeping the lions from getting a lock on the base.  Unfortunately, that had meant landing Yellow and trucking through a few miles of jungle to even get there.  Ryou had played defense while Hunk took their generators apart.  Then, when the shield had fallen, they’d booked it before they could end up the victim of friendly fire (or regular fire).

That all went perfectly.  It was the ‘walk back through the jungle’ part where they went wrong.  Plant life covered the ground, searching for any spare patch of sunlight through the thick, dark canopy.  Several of the vines seemed to put off some kind of strong-smelling, thin ooze that managed to drip along most ever surface.  Combined with their heavy gear and the humidity in the air, it wasn’t surprising that someone had ended up losing their footing.

“We can sit,” Ryou agreed.  “Now that the shield is down, they should finish the clean-up pretty fast.  It wasn’t defended well otherwise.  I don’t think anyone is in trouble.”

Hunk took a deep breath, then let it out in a frustrated huff.  “Yeah.  I guess.”

But who knew how long it would take, and both of them would be far more comfortable in the Yellow Lion.  Not just because neither of them wanted to sit here and listen to the battle go on without them, but because of the jungle itself.  Already, Ryou was sweating enough to create his own pond, and it wasn’t even mid-day.

So Ryou looked to the west, where his helmet helpfully informed him the Yellow Lion was waiting.

It was too much to hope a broken ankle was worth of autonomous pick-up, huh?

“Or,” Ryou said.  “We keep moving and try to get ourselves as close to the lion as possible, just in case.”

Hunk’s lips pulled down.  He leaned back on his palms and narrowed his eyes at Ryou.  “You just said I should stay off my ankle.  Unless you want me to scootch on my butt through miles of jungle, that’s going to be a problem.”

Pausing, Ryou tilted his head and looked Hunk over.  “It’s not the worst idea.  I bet we could make the vines into ropes and I could pull you along like a sled dog.”

“I’d really rather not.”

Ryou groaned dramatically.  “Well,  _ fine. _  If you don’t like that brilliant idea, I guess I’ll just have to give you a piggyback ride.”

“Oh!”  Hunk’s eyes lit up, but then he eyed Ryou dubiously.  “Wait.  Are you sure about that?  I’m broader than you, and I’m only barely shorter.  Can you lift me?”

Arms crossed, Ryou set his jaw stubbornly.  “You realize Shiro once threw Sendak over his head once, right?  On one foot.”

“That’s the Galra arm, not the Altean one.”  Hunk nodded to it.  “It’s definitely stronger than your natural one, sure, especially since we just plugged into the metal support structures already in place.  But we never designed it to throw around Sendak.”

“You’re not Sendak, and I’m not throwing you.”  Ryou held out his arms.  “We can at least give it a shot.  If it doesn’t work we’ll try something else, or we’ll just wait around.”

Hunk hesitated again, but then sighed and nodded.  “Alright.  Just go slowly, okay?  We don’t need two paladins who can’t walk.  I’ll take the bayard and keep watch, in case any of those soldiers managed to chase us this far.”

Ryou turned so his back faced Hunk, then kneeled down so he could climb aboard.  “Actually, I was going to take it.  I’ll pass it up if we get into trouble, but it’s useful for just getting around.”  He grunted as Hunk wrapped his arms around him.  “Ease up on the grip a bit, will you?”

“I don’t want to fall,” Hunk admitted, still clutching.  He pressed his helmet to Ryou’s shoulder.  “This is a bad idea.”

“Thanks for the faith.”  Alright, show time.  Ryou wrapped his arms under Hunk’s knees and pushed off, biting off a groan as he went.

There had been a slight miscalculation, here.  Yes, the arm was plenty strong enough for this, but that wasn’t where the brunt of Hunk’s weight was.  Even so, he climbed up to his feet, though he had to lean forward to keep his balance.  

“There,” Ryou said, forcing his tone to stay level.  It really wasn’t bad, so there.  “Told you.”

Hunk finally picked up his head, and his grip loosened just slightly.  “You haven’t walked yet.”

Ryou took a pointed, sarcastic step forward, being careful to pick a spot with as little vine-slime as possible.  After all, if he did fall and break his ankle too, Hunk was never going to let him hear the end of it.  “Ta-dah.”

“Alright,” Hunk said.  He let go with one arm, the fingers of his other hand digging into Ryou’s chest for a counter balance.  There was a flash of light, and then the yellow bayard ducked into view.  “What do you need this for, anyway?”

Since the arm wasn’t really helping much anyway, Ryou didn’t feel bad for letting go with it.  He took the bayard, and it shifted.  A moment of concentration kept it localized to one arm.  Yellow armor formed over Ryou’s prosthetic hand, and long, white claws jutted out, a much smaller version of Yellow’s upgrade.

“To feel like Wolverine,” Ryou drawled.  Then he took several steps further into the jungle.  The vines and plant growth wound between trees, creating natural walls they’d tried to avoid before.  Instead, Ryou swiped at it, using the claws like a strange machete.  The vines fell away, sliced through neatly.

Hunk hummed as he rested his chin on top of Ryou’s head.  “Can’t you do that with your actual arm?”

“Not without getting it covered in that slime gunk,” Ryou said.  He shook the claws, showing the sap clinging to them.  “Besides, the claws are more fun.”

“Probably voids the warranty.”

Ryou snorted as he continued to carefully step his way through the jungle, testing each spot before putting the full brunt of their combined weight down.  “It’s over ten thousand years old.  I think the warranty is already expired.”

They fell into easy silence as Ryou continued to walk.  Sweat continued to pool inside the armor, wicked away by the dark fabric.  But it was still difficult work.  Ryou’s shoulders started to twinge from all the swinging, and after so long hunched over he was definitely going to have to lay down for a couple of hours.

But Hunk seemed to be doing alright, and they were making steady progress.  Occasionally, Ryou could hear laser fire and explosions.  If no one had patched their helmets into the lion comms yet, he assumed everything was going just fine without them.  As it should.  Without the shielding, one or two lions could take care of it, and Yellow wasn’t the one with the highest damage output.

“How’s the ankle?” Ryou called over his shoulder.  “Same as it was?”

Hunk’s thigh shifted under Ryou’s one-armed grip.  “Fine,” he said, voice pitched just a hair too cheerfully.

“Hunk.”

“It’s fine, I’m not walking on it.”  Hunk sighed and tightened his grip.  “It hurts, I admit that.  A lot.  And the armor is starting to feel tighter around it.  But there’s nothing we can do about that.”

Ryou ground his teeth but didn’t argue.  They had no supplies they could use to help compress the wound, and unless they wanted to stop and have Hunk rest his feet on a bush or something, elevation wasn’t happening either.  Obviously there was no ice packs in the jungle either.  While Ryou could easily heat something up (very, very quickly), he had no way of cooling anything off.

“We can take a break if you need,” he said, glancing back at Hunk  “Just let me know.”

“I’d rather not,” Hunk admitted.  “I don’t think it’ll really help.”  He curled in farther, the side of his helmet scraping against Ryou’s.  “Unless you need to, obviously.”

Ryou sighed.  “Not yet.”  He paused to slice through another several vines in their way.  “I just wish I could help more.  You ended up with the wrong Shirogane.  His bayard would be more useful than mine.”

That made Hunk pause.  “He figured out how to get airborne with them?”

“Well, no,” Ryou admitted.  “He’s still stuck gliding.  But he has wings, he has to be able to fly.  He’ll figure it out eventually.  This might have been a good push.”

Hunk knocked gently on the top of Ryou’s helmet.  “Even if he does manage, it doesn’t mean he can fly while carrying someone else, too.  So, no, I don’t wish Shiro was here.  I’m perfectly happy with the twin I’ve got.”

Ducking his head, Ryou bit his bottom lip to fight off a smile.  

Part of it was that it was nice to hear he was wanted.  Even weeks later, it was hard not to worry that he was the lesser of the two.  He wasn’t the original, or the one with the quintessence reserves, or the full Garrison training.  The Black Lion had certainly made their preference clear, and he wouldn’t be surprised if others felt the same way.

But part of it was the easy use of the word ‘twin’.  ‘Brother’ was still scary enough, when Ryou was using it seriously.  But twins was a step beyond that, an implied depth to their connection.  It made them a unit, a pair.

For all he and Shiro bickered, Ryou liked that.

Hunk knocked again, this time rapidly.  “Hey, at 3 o’clock.  Is it just me, or is it lighter over there?”

Picking his head back up, Ryou squinted in the direction Hunk pointed.  “Maybe?”  He allowed.  “Actually, yeah, I think so.  A clearing, maybe?”

Hunk nodded, which Ryou felt rather than saw.  “We’ll be able to see what’s going on, and we might be able to see the Yellow Lion.”

Maybe.  The dogfight above, sure, but they’d only managed to go a mile or so, and the Yellow Lion was crouched down.  Even so, Ryou wouldn’t mind a break from all the vines and the dark canopy above.

Honestly, he suspected that was Hunk’s real motivation too.

So Ryou nodded and started toward the marginally lighter area.  After doing this for so long, his steps were getting less careful and more heavy.  As much as he didn’t want to fall, there was only so long he could keep up picking his way through.

Like Hunk had predicted, the sunshine started to shine through the trees more and more, until he could see the bright glare ahead of them.  Eager to see the sky and maybe feel a breeze, Ryou slashed through a last layer of vines and stepped through-

Only for the soft dirt to give way under his feet.

Ryou’s stomach shot up to his throat as his foot gave, skidding a full foot forward as the loose earth gave under his heel. 

Now that they weren’t in such heavy, canopic darkness, Ryou could see where the solid ground ended.  Beyond was a steep hill, which then gave way into sheer cliff.  There was several stories of drop, and a river rushed below, inaudible at this distance.  The whole grove was barely twenty feet wide, before the ground continued, as if some giant had pressed a finger into the soft jungle earth and cut a path for the water to follow.

And they were perched just on the edge of the hill.  On top of slick plant-life and no sturdy ground.

“Uh oh,” Ryou mumbled, eyeing the drop ahead of them.  That river would have to be several dozen feet deep for them to survive the fall.  Very, very unlikely.

Hunk bit off a cry and held on tighter.  “Don’t move,” he insisted fiercely.  “Just stay really, really still.”

Ryou bobbed his head.  “Gotcha.  No intentions of moving.”  He considered, eyes narrowed.  “Worse comes to worse, I think we can use the jet-packs to get over this.”

“Maybe?”  Hunk let out a low groan.  “I’d rather just... walk back.  This was such a bad idea, I’m sorry.”

“It was a perfectly good idea,” Ryou said.  “Our luck is just awful.  Are there any trees behind us that you can grab onto and pull yourself back?”

Hunk started to turn in place, which made Ryou’s heels sink sickeningly into the very little dirt holding them back.  For a moment, Hunk’s grip tightened like a steel trap.  But as they settled, he let go and looked.  “Most of the branches are too high,” he admitted.  “I might be able to get a good hold on one of the trunks and pull myself up.”

Those trunks were so slick, but hopefully Hunk could manage with a firm grip.  Ryou nodded, then paused.  “Are you going to be able to do it without hurting your ankle?”

“I think a few seconds of pain is worth not falling to our deaths.”

Yeah, Ryou couldn’t argue with that.  “Then go for- oh, heads up, lion!”

Indeed, the Red Lion careened down toward them, tail up and glowing.  They shot past, probably without noticing the yellow-and-white dots that were Hunk and Ryou.  The tail flashed and impacted somewhere further back in the jungle.

But the strength of the blast was enough to make the ground shudder below Ryou’s feet.

Which was enough to make some of the dirt under Ryou’s heel crumble away and bounce down the hill.

Which meant there wasn’t enough support keeping up their combined weight.

Ryou’s heels skidded again, cresting past the bottom of the hill, and then giving out from under them completely.

Distantly, Ryou heard Hunk let out a yelp in his ear.  There was another voice screaming, and for a moment he wondered when Shiro had shown up.  Then he realized that was himself.

Instinctively, he lashed out with his right arm, trying to reach out and grab anything as they tumbled past the hill to the edge of the cliff.

Rather than wrap his fingers around anything, Ryou jammed the still-formed claws of the yellow bayard into the side of the cliff, which was made of stone instead of wet soil.

It stuck hard, anchoring them in much the same way the reinforced claws of Yellow had managed to help the not-actually-Tardigrades arc keep from falling into acid.

Their fall stopped short, the force nearly breaking Hunk’s grip on Ryou’s back.  He stayed on mostly by crossing his legs around Ryou’s waist and holding on with all his might.

They were no longer falling.  Instead, they dangled by Ryou’s single arm.

Ryou bit down hard on his tongue to keep from crying out at the strain.  His eyes slammed shut, his whole body tense.

“Ryou?” Hunk called.  His voice was strained and thin, and his grip was still tight out of terror.  “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he bit out.  Ryou took a deep breath, then cracked his eyes back open.

The hill portion was a good ten feet light, and so steep it was going to be near impossible to climb.  Even if they’d been able to, the soft dirt from before could just give out again, and then they’d have to get a grip on the slick tree trunks.

Behind them, the cliff rose up the five feet or so they’d fallen, remaining even with the hill on the other side.  But it was still a solid twenty feet away, which meant that even with the jetpacks, they were going to fall farther before they got there.

“Okay,” Ryou said, forcing the word out from between his teeth.  “I think the other side is safer.”

Hunk let out a quiet, unhappy noise.  He reached out and grabbed hold of a jut of rock in front of him, probably trying to help hold his weight.  It didn’t make much of a difference, except that each little movement made Ryou’s shoulder scream.

“I know it’s farther from Yellow,” Ryou continued, still fighting to keep his voice steady.  “But it’s made of rock so it’s safer, and this time we’ll just wait.”

“Ryou.”

But he couldn’t stop.  If he paused, Ryou would think about how his arm felt like it was ripping apart on the inside.  In his mind’s eye, he could imagine the bone splintering away from the metal support structure for the arm.  It had no basis in reality, but the image stubbornly persisted.

“You’ll have to go first.  I can’t use my jetpack without hurting you.  But when I get over next, I can help pull you up.  Be as careful of your ankle as possible.”

“Ryou, stop-”

“It’ll be fine.”  His breathing came raggedly now but Ryou forced his attention to the plan, ignoring everything else.  “A few bursts with the jetpacks should get us to the top, so long as we’re careful.”

“You’re not listening-”

“If you feel like you’re going to lose your balance, just let me know and hold on again.  I can- agh!”

Ryou cut off as Hunk pushed his weight further up Ryou’s back.  It increased the strain on his shoulder, whiting out his gaze and mind with pain.  Distantly, he heard a roar, and he couldn’t tell if it was one of the lions fighting overhead or the blood in his ears.

Hunk’s hand wrapped around the base of Ryou’s, covering half of the gauntlet with the span of his fingers.  

Under his touch, Ryou felt it shift and begin to revert.

His stomach sank.  “No, we’re going to-”

They fell.

Just a couple of feet, before a dark shape overtook them.

Ryou hit metal flooring, jarring his arm and back.  He cried out again, despite his best intentions earlier, and instinctively curled in tight as he prepared for worse.

But it never came.  There was the feeling of movement, but not freefall.  Instead, it was like being in a car.  Or a lion.

Ryou finally picked his head up and saw Hunk pushing himself up.  They were both in the Yellow Lion’s jaw.

Oh.  A broken ankle might not summon a rescue, but falling to their deaths definitely did.

“Sorry!”  Hunk said, both his hands up and his eyes wide.  “I tried to tell you Yellow was coming!  Like, three times!”

Ryou slumped back down, this time on his good side.  “Oh.  You did.  Yeah.  Sorry.”  He looked Hunk over, brows furrowed.  “How’s your ankle?”

“Uh...” Hunk winced.  “Been better.  How’s your arm?”

Ryou sighed.  “Been better.”  Then he stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.  “I’m sorry for stonewalling you.  That was really dumb.”

“You were in a lot of pain,” Hunk replied gently.  “I get it.  But, you know, for the record?  Instead of jumping to another cliff, we could have called anyone to come get us.  We were wearing our helmets.”

Oh.  Yes, they could have.

Ryou’s stomach flipped.  “Bad habit.”

Hunk took a deep breath.  “That makes me really worried for you  _ and _ Shiro,” he said.  “Can you stand, do you think?”

Considering, Ryou nodded.  “Yeah, I think so.  But I don’t think I can fly.”

Hunk cracked a smile. “Hey, between us both, we make one functional paladin.”

The absurdity of the entire situation drew a bark of laughter out of Ryou.  “Well, we work out, at least.”  He pushed himself up with his left arm, ignoring the screaming of his shoulder, then offered a hand to help Hunk up.  

“We do,” Hunk agreed softly.  He took the hand, and between them both they got Hunk to his feet with only minimal wincing.  Then the pair of them hobbled their way up the ramp to the cockpit.  “There’s no one I’d rather do this with, you know.”

Ryou snorted.  “Even when I’m an idiot?”

“You were trying to protect me.”  Hunk shrugged a shoulder, lips curled up.  “You get it.  Everyone makes a great team.  I love them.  But you  _ get _ it. It’s a different mentality for each paladin.  Which is good, because a team is better for different perspectives, but it means you understand.  So, yeah, if I’m going to break my ankle and end up trucking through a gross jungle and nearly fall to my death?  You caught us.  So I’m glad it was you.”

Ryou helped settle Hunk in the pilot’s seat.  “I’m glad it was you, too,” he admitted.  “Though, if I had to pick, I’d choose to carry around Pidge.  She’s more compact.”

Letting out a burst of laughter, Hunk nodded.  “Me too.”

They shared a grin as the yellow screens appeared around them.

“There you two are,” Shiro called.  He squinted at them from his own screen, brow furrowing.  No doubt he could see the dirt and vine goop smeared over them both.

Lance nodded and shot them a grin and a thumbs up.  “You missed the good part.  We’re just cleaning up, now.”

“We’re heading back to the castle anyway,” Ryou admitted.  “Everyone’s good?”

“Perfectly safe,” Allura said.  “It was a simple task after you took out the shields.”

On Hunk’s shoulder, Ryou’s grip tightened.  Hunk leaned back into the touch as he nodded and made a course for the castle.

Everyone was safe.

It was a relief that Ryou couldn’t put into words, even as his shoulder continued to burn.

But he didn’t have to explain it.  Hunk understood.

That was what mattered, in the end.

 


	3. Lance

Ryou pulled off his helmet and shook his hair out.  The sweat-soaked strands stood up at odd angles, and the chilly air of the training room felt amazing against his overheated cheeks.  His shoulder hit the wall, helping keep him up as he studied his brother.

Shiro looked hardly better than Ryou.  His shoulders heaved with each breath, and there was a persistent curl to back, like he desperately wanted to lean against something but wouldn't let himself.  Finally, he turned to the rest of the group and nodded heavily.  "I think we're good for today."

"Thank god," Hunk groaned, immediately sinking to the ground where he stood.  He flopped out on his back, arms spread wide, and took several gulping breaths of air.  "I never want want to move again.  Leave me here forever."

Pidge flopped down as well, using Hunk's chest as a pillow.  "That third training bot was evil," she said, eyeing Shiro from the corner of her eyes.  "Pure, unadulterated evil."

"It was your brother's idea," Shiro said, his brows rising.  "So don't come complaining to me."

"You went with it," Ryou shot back, utterly unwilling to let Shiro weasel out of the blame.  Not when all of them felt like dying.

They'd been at this since the crack of dawn, when Shiro had roused them with an alarm and sharp eyes.  From there, he'd sent them into an obstacle course where half the walls were invisible, and timed them the whole time, pushing for shorter laps each and every attempt.  Those scores were still digitally displayed on the side of the wall.  Keith had, predictably, crushed everyone.  Any agility match was going to end up in his favor.  Pidge had ended up in second, just barely squeaking past Shiro through the creative use of her bayard.  Ryou's scores were near even with Allura's, and they'd spent a stupid amount of energy trying to outdo each other's scores.  Behind them, Lance trailed, followed closely by Hunk.

That had been just the beginning.  Then Shiro had immediately thrown them into one-on-one sparring, running through nearly every combination of combatant.  In that one, Shiro had irritatingly rose to the top, with Allura in second.  Ryou still felt he could have done better on that one, irritatingly.  Losing to Allura in his first bout had knocked him off balance, from a mixture of that first day as himself and just being outplayed.  The loss had plagued him every other round after, and a clear head would have helped.  At least, it would have kept him from being distracted when Hunk physically lifted him up and lobbed him out of the ring.

Then, because Shiro had apparently developed a sadistic streak, he'd pitted them all against two top-level gladiator bots, counting how many times each of them went down.  And just when it looked like they'd be able to take them on, a third had been unexpectedly dropped into the battlefield.

Endurance training, apparently.

If Ryou didn't know exactly what it was like to live in Shiro's head, he'd call him a liar.  In fact, he still wanted to.

"I can't believe I ever accused you all of slacking off," Allura mumbled.  She took one of the water packets and took a long drag, nearly draining it in one go.  "Even if it was to make a point, I take it back."

Ryou snorted.  "Glad to know we've raised in your estimation.  Only took a year."

That earned him a smile.  "What is the phrase?  That you should have 'gotten good?'"

"Just 'get good.'   It's not great grammar, but that's how it goes."

Allura crinkled her nose in distaste, her princess-y diction training at odds with the phrasing.  But she nodded.  "Then 'get good.'"

Really, all of them should feel bad for corrupting a princess like this.  Ryou turned, a curl at his lips, to find Lance.  He and Pidge were the main sources of strange slang, so he had to be proud.

Except Lance wasn't paying attention at all.  Instead his eyes were on the scores on the wall, lips pulled down.  His fingers dug into the sides of his helmet.

Ryou followed his gaze, head tilted.  Was something wrong with the scoring?

It only took him a minute to figure out why.

Lance was second to last in the agility portion.  He was quick on his feet, but he didn't have anything on Keith, and he lacked Ryou, Shiro, and Allura's acrobatic instincts.  In a pure race he'd have beaten Pidge, but she had her bayard to help with the climbing obstacles.

Then, he was just ahead of Pidge, who was outclassed by sheer weight and size by just about everyone, and essentially tied with Ryou in the sparing portions, but he was far, far behind Allura, Keith and Shiro, and Hunk's victory over Ryou pushed him ahead in the scores.  One-on-one combat was simply not his strong suit.

In the bot fight, he'd gone down often, ahead of both Shiro and Keith, who were swatted to the mats so many times that Ryou was amazed they were still standing.

Looking at the scores objectively, Ryou would say that none of the exercises had matched up to Lance's skill sets.  Even so, he hadn't done badly in any of the different areas.  There were a few stand-outs, but Lance was firmly in the middle of the pack.

But if Ryou looked from Lance's perspective, he knew how it would seem.

Last, last, last.  Even when that wasn't objectively true.

Oh, boy.

Across the room, Shiro looked up from a conversation with Keith.  From the look of it, he was testing Keith's shoulder to make sure he hadn't strained it turning the last bout of the fight.

Shiro's eyes met Ryou, then darted to Lance with a tilt to his head.

_ 'You going to talk to him, or should I?' _

Ryou nodded back, then offered Allura smile.  "Hey, rain check on trash talking, alright?  After lunch I'm game, but I've been meaning to talk to Lance.  Unfortunately, a certain jackass decided to wake us up at stupid o'clock so I didn't get a chance at breakfast."

Allura nodded, pushing her hair back and away from her face.  "Of course. "  Her eyes darted to Lance, and her expression sobered.  "Yes, that does seem like a good idea."

Shoot.  Lance really wouldn't want everyone noticing him having a moment of insecurity.  First order of business was going to be getting him somewhere private.  Ryou started to step over, and noticed Hunk's gaze.  He got a smile and a thumbs up, which just further proved his point.

So Ryou threw an arm over Lance's shoulder, heavy enough to jolt his attention away from the scoreboard.  "Hey there."

Lance jolted hard, head whirling around to look up at Ryou.  "Oh.  Hey."  His eyes darted back to the numbers, just for a moment, and then he plastered on a grin.  "What's up?"

"I actually wanted to show you something today, before Shiro decided to be the worst.  You want to wash up first, or do you want to go see?"  Ryou gave his shoulders a squeeze.  

Head tilted, Lance considered Ryou.  Finally, he gave a nod.  "We can go see.  You got me something?"

"Mmm, not the wording I'd use."  Ryou walked in a half circle around Lance, casually turning him in place and walking him toward the door.  "Besides, it's going to be a bit before lunch.  Everyone's going to want to shower off and take a breather, and then it's just gunna be goo.  So we've got a bit of time."

Curiosity finally started brighten Lance's eyes.  He nodded as he let Ryou half-push him out of the room.  "Very mysterious.  What have you been up to?"

Ryou grinned back, his best shining smile.  "Fun things!  And besides, I want out of that room right now.  I'm sore as hell, and I kind of want to throw my helmet at Shiro's dumb smug face."

"You should really stop insulting Shiro's face.  Kind of reflects badly on you."  Lance's smile grew more genuine, though there was worry in his eyes.  "Did you guys have a fight or something?"

Ryou shrugged elaborately and looked away.  "Mmm, I wouldn't call it a fight.  More of him being him and me being annoyed.  You know how it is."  He'd let Shiro know about the little white lie later.  If it made Lance feel like he was doing Ryou the favor by being his excuse to get out, all the better.

Lance shook his head fondly.  "You guys really started acting like siblings fast, you know that?"

"It has nothing to do with being related," Ryou insisted.  "Shiro's stubborn, that's all.  And I'm not going to say more because I don't feel like getting my ass kicked again today."

The reminder immediately wiped the amusement off Lance's face.  He looked down at his feet, not even pretending to watch where they were going.  "Yeah."

Too far.  Whoops.  That was a stupid miscalculation.

Luckily, Ryou was able to pause in front of his workroom.  He plugged in his code, then stepped in and stretched comfortably.  "You wanna sit?"

"If I stop moving, I don't think I'm getting up for the next couple of hours."  Instead, Lance looked around, peering curiously and the various projects.  "My surprise is in here?  You built me something!"

Ryou laughed.  "Yeah, well, it's nothing that impressive.  We already had the blueprints for making them, I just thought we could give it another go."  He waved to Lance, calling him on when he was temporarily distracted by a project under a sheet.   _ "Ah-ah! _  That one's not yours.  No touchy."

"Awww, now I wanna know.”  Lance’s bottom lip stuck out, though he dropped his reaching hand.  “You're keeping things from me?  No fair, I tell you everything."

That earned him a snort.  "I doubt it.  And trust me, it's only a vague idea right now anyway.  I'll let you in on it later, okay?"

Lance's bottom lip jutted out, but he obediently picked up the pace to catch up to Ryou.  Glancing down at the other table, he paused, and then his eyes went wide.  "Oh.  This one's mine?"

"Yup."  Ryou hefted up one of the paintball guns and aimed it at the far wall, where a few splatters of yellow paint still remained.  It was his lab and no one else used it, so he'd clean it up later.  Honestly, he liked the burst of color.  It was very unlike most of the labs he'd been in previously, both Garrison and Galra.  "Just for the two of us for now, unless you want to drag more people in. I can make more of the guns pretty easily, so I just need a heads up.  What do you think?"

Lance picked up the other paintball gun and peered down the scope.  "Cool," he declared, but it wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Ryou would have expected.  He dropped the weapon quickly.  "Maybe not today, though?  I'm exhausted."

"Definitely not," Ryou agreed.  "But I figured you could give me some pointers, too.  It's a useful skill, but not one I've really ever had to use."

The gun dropped back onto the table.  "If you want," Lance agreed, even less eager now.  His eyes stayed firmly on the table.  "You could ask Hunk for help too, though.  Or Shiro, he's rifle certified."

Ryou put down his gun and crossed his arms.  "I could.  But neither of them are as good as you."

Lance glanced up at him, lips pressed thin and gaze flat.  "Sure."

"I'm serious," Ryou replied.  "You think I'm exaggerating?  Hunk's great at a lot of stuff, but he's not really interested in accuracy.  His gun has coverage, and he just lays down fire and hits whatever gets in his way.  Shiro is competent, yeah, but do you think he could have made that shot in Beta Traz?  While in open space freefall?  Hell no."

Lips pressed thin, Lance gave a sharp nod.  "Yeah, I guess so."  He glanced up at Ryou, then gave a low sigh.  "Maybe he couldn't have.  I can do that, sure, but what does it matter?  I'm not doing that kind of stuff all the time.  That prison was just about the only time."

"Oh, so the sniper function of your bayard is for aesthetics?" Ryou drawled.  "I must have imagined the soldiers you shot off of my back, then.  My mistake."

Lance finally dropped into a chair and let his head fall back over the side.  "Alright, fine.  But that doesn't.... I don't know, Ryou.  It feels like you're just patting me on the head like a little kid.  I know I screwed up today, alright?"

Ryou sat down on the edge of the table and frowned right back at Lance.  "No, you didn't."  When he started to argue, Ryou raised up a hand to stop him.  "No, listen to me.  You didn't screw up.  You didn't suck.  Your name might not have been next to the top score, yeah.  It might even have been toward the bottom.  But that doesn't mean it's a bad job.  You were right in there with everyone else.  The point of that exercise wasn't to make you feel bad for not being as fast as Keith.  Of course you aren't, none of us are.  The point was the thing that Shiro kept harping on."

Lance scoffed.  "Not walking into invisible walls?"

"Beating  _ yourself."   _ Ryou crossed his arms, one brow raised.  "Did you do better than the first time you tried this morning?"

'Yeah, but-"

"Did you do better than the halfway mark?"

Lance's scowl deepened as he looked away.  "I guess."

"I know that feels like crap."  Ryou's blunt phrasing drew Lance's attention, his brows jumping to his hairline.  "Seriously, it does.  I hate being at the bottom too.  The sparring kicked my ass for dumb reasons, and I definitely didn't keep my feet during the fight with the bots.  I don't like it either, alright?  But we've all got to stop treating it like we're trying to beat each other.  Because we're not.  Those scores weren't up there so you could feel bad that Keith outran you, or so I could obsess over Shiro's name above mine every time.  It's so we see our own numbers and we know the bar to beat."

Lance let out a sigh, so long and hard it looked like he deflated.  "I guess.  It just feels like everyone is really good at stuff, you know?  There's that one thing they do.  And I have my shooting, yeah, but it doesn't seem as useful.  Being the fastest like Keith is better, or being the hardest to beat like Shiro.  I don't know what I bring the rest of the time."

Stretching out his shoulders, Ryou considered him.  "Okay, two things.  One, I think the reason sharpshooting doesn't feel important is because it's something that comes naturally to you.  I bet that Keith or Pidge or Hunk would say that it's a way harder skill to learn than just getting faster.  You're underselling your own strengths because you don't see the way other people struggle with them, same way they don't see you struggling with what they're good at."

Lips pressed thin, Lance shrugged.  But there was a light to his eyes and a tilt to his head, a sign he was listening and absorbing the words.  "Maybe.  I guess it has been useful."

"And," Ryou continued on.  "I'm not best at anything either.  And I'm  _ definitely _ more redundant than you are.  Do you think I'm not valuable to the team?"

Lance's head snapped up, eyes wide and horrified.  "No!  That's not what I'm saying.  You're not redundant at all."  He shoved himself to his feet so he could jab Ryou in the chest.  "How many times do we have to say that's crap?"

A smile pulled at Ryou's lips, slightly dark.  "The thought is appreciated, but I'm literally a duplicate, Lance.  I kinda can't forget it."  When Lance took a breath to continue, Ryou rested a hand on his shoulder.  "But objection noted.  That's not the point I'm making.  Not being the best at stuff isn't a reason to kick people out of the team.  You did pretty good at everything, Lance.  No matter what we need you to do, you can adapt and get the job done.  Maybe not with a flourish or with the fastest scores, but you do everything you need to just fine.  Do you know how important that is?"

Lance blinked rapidly, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him.  "But doing the best job is important."

"Yeah, but there's so few of us and so much to do," Ryou said.  "Trust me, I know how Shiro thinks, when things are going wrong and everything boils down to results.  Shiro trusts you.  A lot.  Because no matter what he needs you to do, he knows you can do a good job.  Everyone else has stuff they're good at, but they have stuff they're bad at, too.  The only thing you suck at is flirting."

Cheeks going pink, Lance stuck out his bottom lip.  "I do not suck at flirting."  But despite his protests, his eyes were bright and his shoulders relaxed.  "You're not just saying this stuff, right?  I'm going to be really mad if you are."

"I'm not a liar," Ryou insisted, and even mostly meant it.  His lies were all for good reasons, anyway.  "No, I'm completely serious.  You're a relief, I promise you.  Shiro trusts you, and the team trusts you, and  I trust you.  Being the best isn't the important thing on a team.  What matters is covering for each other.  And that's what you're the best at, even better than sharpshooting.  You make the team work."

Lance set his jaw and nodded, short and jerky.  He blinked rapidly, then caught himself.  "Okay.  Yeah.  I guess that makes sense.  It just doesn't feel great all the time, you know?"

Ryou nodded, squeezing Lance's shoulder again.  "I do know.  I think the Garrison really drilled that into us.  They work by putting everyone in competition for everything, and it's a zero sum game.  You have to be the best or else you don't get what you want.  That's not how we work, not anymore.  But we need to get out of that mindset."

"Yeah."  Lance hesitated, then stepped forward.  He pressed his forehead to Ryou's shoulder.  "We belong here.  Both of us.  We're good at this."

The words, and more importantly the emotion behind them, felt like they reverberated in Ryou's chest.  He wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulders and pulled him in close.  "Yeah.  We do.  And we're sticking here until someone drags us away.  Good luck to them, too, because we'll put up a fight."

Lance let out a watery sounding chuckle.  "We will.  Thanks, Ryou."

"No problem," Ryou replied.  He rested his cheek on top of Lance's head and took a deep breath.  "And, you know, this stuff is hard to shake.  Once you go down that rabbit hole of 'am I really good enough', it's tough to climb back out.  So if you ever need to talk, I'm here to listen."

"I know," Lance replied.  "Hunk too.  And I usually know what you're going to say.  It's just hard to believe when someone isn't there to walk me through."

"Yeah," Ryou replied, sighing.  "Life would be way easier if we could all just talk ourselves up.  Ah, well."  He pulled back and ruffled Lance's hair, just to get a flat look from him.  "And when you feel like you suck but you don't want to talk about it?  That's what this is for."  He picked up one of the guns and waggled it enticingly.  "Remind yourself how much better you are at this than you think, and that it's a harder skill than you give yourself credit for."

Lance pulled back, frowning.  "I don't want to feel better by making you feel bad."

Ryou's raised a brow and snorted.  "You kidding me?  I know I'm a worse shot than you.  Technically, I've never fired a gun except testing these babies out.  That's just reality.  So, yeah, I'll lose.  But I'll see you covered in yellow paint before I give up."

"Not white?" Lance leaned back and smirked.

"It doesn't show up well," Ryou admitted, leaning back on his hand.  "Yellow is better, and it's fine.  Oh, right, red or blue for you?"

Lance considered, head tilted.  "Blue and yellow will look better.  I'd rather turn us green than orange."

"Good call."  Ryou stepped over to one of the machines and selected red, then watched as it started to produce paintball ammo.   "So, lunch, and probably not today.  But maybe in a few days, if no mission pops up?"

"Fat chance of that."  But Lance nodded agreeably.  He stood, then groaned in pain.  "Oh, sitting was a bad idea.  I feel old.  I feel ancient.  This sucks."

Ryou snorted and patted him in the middle of his back.  Hard.  "You'll live.  C'mon, let's go eat.  I'm starving."

Lance let out another whine, but nodded.  "Yeah, good plan."  He sided up next to Ryou, then glanced at him in a smile.  "Hey, so while we're talking about stuff we're good at?  You're a really good friend, Ryou."

Absurdly, Ryou's cheeks went pink.  Really, Lance was just being nice, it wasn't worth getting flustered over.  "Thanks.  You're pretty good too."

"Just figured it was worth saying."  Lance shrugged and started for the door, then paused by one of the other tables.  "You said you're sick of being behind Shiro, and I get that.  But Shiro isn't always the easiest to talk to.  He's so private, you know?  It makes him a little more intimidating to talk to.  Not in a mean way, but you're more open."

Ryou's chest warmed as he followed after.  "Thanks.  He has his reasons to play things closer to the chest.  I don't. That's all- hey, out of there!"

Lance ripped his hand back from the sheet.  "I want to see!"

"No way."  Ryou put both his hands on Lance's shoulder and marched him out into the hallway.  "Not until it's farther along.  Hands to yourself.  What are you, Hunk?"

"Does Hunk know about it?"

"Do  _ not _ tell Hunk."

Lance's smile went mischievous as he glanced over his shoulder.  "Keep something from my closest, oldest friend?  There better be a very good reason for that.  Possibly in the form of a bribe."

Sighing, Ryou shook his head.  "I'm going to have to change the code on my lab, aren't I?"

"What makes you think  _ that _ would stop us?"

Even with the teasing, Ryou smiled as they headed toward the kitchen.

Lance was smiling, honest and open.  That was a difference that Ryou could make.  Maybe not one unique to him, but one he still did a good job at.

And he got a paintball partner out of it.  Win-win.


	4. Matt and Pidge

"Matt!  Hey, Matt!"

Looking up from the report on screen, Matt nodded to Ryou.  Then, one of his brows slowly rose.  "Hey.  You've got a little..."  He gestured to the side of his head.

Ryou paused, then reached up and ran his fingers over the same spot on his own head.  His fingers came away stained blue.  "Oh, yeah.  I was distracting Lance.  That's kind of what this is about."

"You looking for a partner in crime or something?  'Cause, sorry, but I don't feel like getting shot at by sniper with a paintball gun for the next couple of hours.  This was your miscalculation, keep me out of it."  Matt's lips quirked up, proof enough he was kidding, as he slumped back down in the kitchen table.  "Though, it might be more fun than coordinating rebel movements to match our predictions."

Ryou sat down at the table next to him, peering over to look at Matt's star charts.  "I can help with that later.  I keep stealing stuff from Shiro's plate to work on.  But, no, the paintball fight is over. I lost, obviously.  But the point is that Lance saw the project.  Under the sheet, but still."

Matt's finger froze over his screen.  "He- oh c'mon, Ryou!  We left in there because it was supposed to be safer!"

"I know.  But I'd been working on the paintball project, and Lance had a hard day yesterday, so I figured I'd show it to him.  But he saw the mound and he won't stop asking." Ryou let his head fall back on the chair and let out a long sigh.  "I could just tell him it's a surprise for Pidge, but he'll tell Hunk, and Hunk won't be able to resist looking."

"And Hunk can definitely break through your lock."  Matt put down his pad and scrubbed over his face.  "Could you tell him it's a surprise for Hunk, then?  Or for both of them?"

Ryou shrugged.  "I mean, they're going to find out already.  I want it to be a happy occasion, not Lance finding out I lied to his face to keep him from snooping."

Humming his understanding, Matt glanced over at him.  "Then what are you going to do about it."

Ryou shot him a gleaming smile.   _ "We _ are going to finish the project tonight, before Lance can get too curious."

"We-"  Matt straightened up in his chair and stared at Ryou.  "We've barely got a design finished.  You want to get this entire project done in one night?"

The smile just grew, a hopeful light shining in Ryou's eyes.  "Yes?  I mean, we're working off a known blueprint.  Just tweaking it.  It shouldn't be that hard, once we have the castle machine the parts."  When Matt didn't immediately speak, Ryou sighed.  "C'mon, do you really want to risk this being found out?"

"Who's fault would that be?"  But Matt sighed and clapped Ryou on the shoulder.  "Alright, it's better than rebel plans.  Let's go build a robot."

Ryou brightened and hopped to his feet.  "Awesome!  Thank you, Matt.  I'm sorry it got pushed up like this.  I'll definitely help with your work.  Between us both we can get it done while the parts get made."

That earned him a flat look, but there was good humor behind it.  "We'd better, or else we'll be up all night."

"Just most of it.  And wouldn't be the first time for either of us."  Ryou offered a hand to help Matt up, then half dragged him out the door.

Checking the area carefully for any nosy onlookers, Ryou typed in the code for his lab.  It was untouched from earlier, by the looks of it, which was good.  He didn't think Lance would have broken and told Hunk yet, and if he had they almost definitely hadn't defaulted to 'break in and look themselves', but it would have happened eventually.  He just wanted to be careful.

As Matt stepped in behind him, Ryou walked over to his covered project and yanked off the the sheet.  The pyramidal casing gleamed in the bright lights, almost giving the impression it was turned on already.  Which would be impressive, since it was empty.  "You finish up the code tweaks yet?"

"Yeah," Matt replied, stepping over.  "Lucky for you, I have it in my personal files."  At Ryou's flat look, he shrugged.  "I didn't label it 'top secret Rover program - keep out, little sister.'  The top bit looks like a code for sorting out recorded Galra chatter.  I have like ten versions of that code, so it's fine.  No way anyone was snooping in that, it's crazy boring."

Ryou nodded and opened a drawer, pulling out more parts.  "Alright, good.  Sorry for changing the time on you, I really didn't mean to compromise the surprise like this."

"I know."  Matt patted him on the back, expression softening.  "I'm mostly teasing, if I'm being honest.  Someone was bound to notice something eventually.  This has been dragging on for too long."

"That's hardly our fault," Ryou said.  "We'd be done by now if we didn't have jobs.  Really busy, important jobs."

Matt shrugged.  "Yeah, obviously.  I just mean it's good to finally get it done and have it out of the way.  And thanks for doing this.  I do appreciate you helping so much."

Ryou's eyes widened, then he broke out into a smile.  "Hey, of course.  I'm glad you asked me.  It would have made more sense to ask Hunk or something, but I'm honored to help out."

Snorting, Matt shook his head.  He took the hard drive from Ryou and moved to the console, then started to open up his files.  "Nah, I wouldn't want to ask Hunk to keep that kind of secret.  He's really not great at keeping information to himself.  I love it about him, it means I get all the juicy gossip.  And, besides, you're pretty good at this.  More than I would think from that flyboy background."

"The Garrison did teach the pilots how to do basic math, you know," Ryou replied.  "And it turns out that screwdrivers are pretty easy to use.  Who would have known?  Plus, I'm a walking welder."  He waggled his fingers in proof.

Matt glanced back over his shoulder, gaze flat.  It struck Ryou, not for the first time, that the lack of glasses really made Matt's eyes more direct.  It made for a very effective glare.  "Just let me thank you without trying to weasel out of it, would you?"

Ryou held up both his hands in placation.  "Alright, yeah.  You're welcome for the help.  Mostly, I'm just glad to help make Pidge happy."

A beaming smile spread over Matt's face.  "Yeah, me too.  She's grown so much, you know?  Not so much vertically.  From my perspective, it looks like she shrunk.  I didn't realize I'd gotten that much taller until I was standing next to her.  But she's done so much.  It's unbelievable."

"Pidge is amazing," Ryou agreed, smiling back.  Matt had always been a doting big brother, obnoxiously proud of his genius little sister.  It was a lot more understandable once Shiro (and now Ryou) knew her for himself.

Matt nodded and turned back to his code.  "So I wanted to do something for her back, after all she's done, you know?  I mean, I didn't exactly get a choice, but I still wasn't there for her for all of this.  And I can't even stick around all the time now, much as I'd like to.  I'd like her to have something better than my old glasses and my haircut to keep around when I can't be there."

Glancing over, Ryou pulled over a console and set up the machining program to let run.  Then he moved over to place his hand on Matt's shoulder.  "Like you said, it wasn't your fault."

"It's not.  I'm not going on some absurd self-blame journey."  Matt shot Ryou a flat look, which was unfair.  He wasn't nearly as bad as Shiro.  But before he could say that, Matt continued.  "I just like the idea, is all. I know you guys are a good team and you'll keep her safe, but I'll feel better if there's an extra layer.  Plus, she'll get all excitable and bounce around and do that thing where she folds her hands up under her chin."  Matt copied the motion, his entire face soft with fondness.

Ryou's eyes warmed just watching him.  "I'll feel better too.  Rover was incredibly useful, for the short time we had him.  Now that we don't always have Keith, and Shiro's arm isn't reliable to open doors, a Galra-design drone is a good back-up."  He patted Matt on the shoulder.  "I'm going to start getting the wiring and the lights together.  Let me know if you need help over here."

Matt raised his hand in a thumbs up.  "It'll be dinner in a bit.  Don't get too involved."

"I'll have dinner brought to us."

Brows up, Matt turned around to face Ryou.  "I thought the point was to avoid suspicion."

Ryou just grinned.  "We're working on very important rebel plans, right?  Here, lemme call it in now."  He reached for the console and tapped on it, paging Shiro.

There were several low, long beeps, and then a click.  "You need something?"

"Hello, brother dear.  It's lovely to speak with you too.  After you having a good afternoon?"

Shiro sighed, low and long.  "Hello, Ryou.  What do you want?"

Ryou snickered, well aware that Shiro would be able to hear it.  "Weird question - where are you right now?"

"My room," Shiro replied carefully.  "Why?"

"Alone?"

"Who would I have in my room?"

Without looking up from his code, Matt let out a wolf-whistle.

Shiro choked.  "Ryou!"

"Hey, that was Matt, not me."  Ryou bit back more laughter.  No sense really annoying Shiro too much when he was asking for help.  "We're working on a special project.  Top secret stuff.  Can you cover for us at dinner?  Just say we're doing rebel stuff, that'll fly."

There was a long pause.  "Should I be worried at the lack of specificity?"

"Don't you trust me?"  Ryou stuck out his bottom lip, despite the lack of visual.  "It's a surprise for Pidge.  You'll hear all about it tomorrow if all goes well.  So cover for us.  Please?"

Shiro sighed again, but lighter this time.  "Alright, I can do that.  You're right that no one will question it, considering how often you take over those communications.  Want me to bring you dinner?"

"Yes, please!  You're the best."

"I know," Shiro replied, amused now.  "Hello, Matt.  Seriously, who do you think would be in my room?"

Turning in his chair, Matt shrugged.  "I don't know your life, Shiro.  Maybe you have the team over for a group pep talk or something weird like that.   Who said it was for explicit reasons?  You dirty minded boy."

Another long pause hung in the air. "I'm doing you a favor, remember?"

"Sorry.  Thank you very much, oh gallant and noble leader of the paladins.  Your wisdom and kindness will be remembered for eternity."  Matt bit his bottom lip to keep from snickering.

Shiro groaned.  "I don't know why I bother.  When I bring you food I expect an explanation."

"You got it," Ryou added.  "Gunna go now, we're very busy beavers.  Plus, it's really tempting to tease you and I don't want to be too mean when you're being nice.  See you later."

"Be there in an hour."

With that, the line went dead.  Ryou sat back down in his seat and started to pull together Rover 2.0's pieces.  "I now understand why you needled Shiro the entire trip to Kerberos.   It's so  _ easy." _

Matt sighed dreamily.  "I know.  It was even worse then, while he was trying to be so professional.  I had to poke his buttons."

Considering, Ryou glanced over at Matt.  "You think we might be jerks?"

"Probably," Matt said.  "But we're doing a nice thing, so it cancels out."

"Good point."

***

Several hours later, Ryou scrubbed over his face and clenched his teeth against a yawn. His eyes felt permanently crossed from focusing on such tiny parts from so long, and his shoulders ached from how he’d bent over to focus.

"Okay," he said, rubbing over his eyes.  "I think I need a break  Ten minutes."

Matt grunted his agreement and slumped back in his own chair.  In front of him, Rover 2.0 was more than half built.  But that was just literally putting the bot together - they would need to test all the functionalities, and at least do a passable patch on everything that didn't work.  

In short, their night wasn't nearly done yet.

"Think Shiro will bring us more food?" Matt asked.  "Or at least drinks."

"Probably," Ryou agreed.  "But we probably shouldn't take advantage.  I'll go get some.  Just tell me what you want to eat - doesn't make much of a difference to me."

"Why-"  Matt winced.  "Right, yeah.  Your taste thing.  Uh, I dunno what's around.  More of the pasta would be fine.  Anything crunchy, too.  Whatever you want in terms of texture, man.  Getting to eat means we don't have to take a break by doing the rebel plans."

Oh, hell, right.  They hadn't even started on those.  Ryou groaned and rubbed his temples.  "Yeah.  We'll break and then tackle that for a bit, maybe?  Or finish up the build and work on the movement patterns while Rover boots up for the first time."

Matt nodded and took a deep breath.  "Yeah.  We probably should.  Though, honestly, I can probably get it done tomorrow instead.  It's not like any of the other paladins are going to demand to see them.  It's boring."

"True, but we really shouldn't put it off."  This was war, after all.  Those were real people who needed to be in the right position to keep themselves safe and keep the Galra at bay.

But Matt just arched a brow.  "You trust us to make good calls in this state?"

Not a bad point.  Ryou smiled back thinly and shrugged one shoulder.  "You guys kept weirder hours on the Kerberos flight, and the Garrison trusted your results."

Pausing, Matt stared at Ryou.  Then he picked up a screw and started to run it between his fingers.  "Hey, weird question for you."

"Shoot."  Ryou sat back down and leaned forward, arms braced on the tabletop.  "What's up?"

"How much of the Kerberos trip do you remember?"

Ryou tilted his head, thinking about it.  "It's hard to say.  Do I remember how much I forgot?  But I feel like I have a pretty complete picture.  Shiro thought about it a lot in captivity."

"Oh."  Matt tapped the screw against the table.  "Huh."

"Is that a bad thing?"  Ryou ducked his head down, trying to see Matt's face through the curtain of brown hair.  

Matt glanced up and shrugged.  "I guess it depends on how he thinks about it, right?  Was he was remembering all the times I teased him or got mad at what a stick in the mud he was,?  Then he want 'damn, shouldn't have bothered, this sucks.' Then yeah, it's a bad thing."

The response was so strange that Ryou could only stare.  "Have you  _ met _ my brother?"

Matt stopped tapping the screw against the table.  Instead, he gave a sulky shrug.  "I mean, I wouldn't blame him.  It was a stressful situation, right?  It would make sense of he was looking for someone to blame other than the Galra.  I don't mind that, not really, I just... I dunno, I guess I want to know where we stand, except he doesn't remember, so where I stand with you, instead."

"You-"  Ryou shook his head.  Then reached over and gave Matt a firm shove to the shoulder.  "No!  Look, I'm trying to be good about telling people what Shiro thinks.  It's his business, and it's not mine to share.  But I'm going to make an exception here because you're painfully wrong.  It actually hurts me.  Shiro thought about the Kerberos trip so much because it was the last good thing he lived through, alright?  He loved the trip.  Part of it was about 'what could I have done better', especially on the moon itself.  But it was an escape, when Earth felt less real.  Shiro made his choice that day, and he never blamed you for his actions.  Why would he?"

Eyes wet, Matt swallowed hard.  "He went through hell for me."

"You went through hell too."

Matt's jaw wobbled.  "Maybe.  Okay, yeah.  I don't know how my stuff compares to what Shiro went through, but I guess that's a really dumb competition."  He took a deep breath.  "Sorry, I made this all dramatic and emotional.  I just wondered."

"Yeah."  Ryou reached out and squeezed Matt's shoulder.  "I know we haven't really talked about it, but... we're going to find your dad.  You know that, right?  It's harder since Pidge doesn't have a photo of him like she did of you, but we will.  She tracked you down, after all."

Matt nodded, straightening so his head was held high.  "Yeah, we will.  I believe that.  I kind of have to, honestly.  And broadcasting my sister's face across the universe is a way more effective way of doing that than weird ciphers in graveyards."

"Pretty cool cipher, all things considered.  It was clever."

"Yeah, well."  Matt's cheeks pinked as he shrugged.  "It was Dad's idea.  I just piggybacked off him, like usual."  He cleared his throat, then took a deep breath.  "Thanks, though.  We kind of got off track.  I just wanted to know how much you remembered, is all.  What I can reference, all that."

Ryou raised his brows.  "I remember you clipping Shiro to the ceiling as he slept."

Matt just grinned back, even if it was still wobbly.  "Good.  That was a classic."

"It's way funnier when I think of it as being done to Shiro than to me."  Ryou leaned back in his chair.  "I might not get every inside joke.  But I remember you as a friend.  Even if you called me 'Sir'."

"I explained that!"  Matt's whole expression went flat with irritation.  "It was one nervous moment.  It was the first time I'd seen you- Shiro- whatever.  Since he'd saved me.  I panicked.  Let it go."

"Do you ever let things go?"

Matt stared him down, then huffed.  "Weren't you getting food?"

Ryou mouthed the words back mockingly, but got up.  "Pasta and water, coming up.  Don't cause a mess while I'm gone."

Brows up, Matt picked up the screw he'd been fiddling with.  Then he pointedly dropped it over the edge of the table.

The dweeb.

Ryou ruffled Matt’s hair as he passed, half for the friendly contact and half for his squawk of protest.

***

"Ryou.  Hey, Ryou!"

Starting, Ryou picked his head up, blinking rapidly.  He glanced down, and saw his elbow on the table, palm up and still warm from holding his chin.  A screwdriver rested on the table, barely an inch from the limp fingers of his right arm.

Shoot.

Ryou shook his head, forcing himself more awake, then he met Matt's eyes.  "Sorry," he mumbled, then grimaced.  His mouth felt fuzzy, and if he could taste he'd bet there was that awful post-nap bitterness.  "How long was I out?"

"Not long, I think."  Matt rubbed under his eyes and smiled.  "It's alright.  I'm done."

At first, the words didn't fully sink in.  Ryou squinted, then jolted.  "Rover's done?"

"All done."

"Finally!"  Ryou slumped forward on the table with a groan of pure relief.  "I'm so sorry for getting us into this.  All the tests came back clean?"

Matt let out a breathy chuckle.  "Mostly.  There's a couple little blips, but nothing that Pidge will notice quickly.  I can make a patch tomorrow and download it no problem.  We're done for the day."

Ryou scooted his chair closer, then grabbed Matt in a loose, heavy hug.  "I'm so damn glad.  Holy crap.  Thank you, Matt, I would have passed out and totally screwed up the plan if you weren't here."

Laughing, Matt leaned gratefully into the hug.  "Of course.  And if you hadn't been here to help out, I don't know how many months it would have taken me.  Getting to hang out was a good motivation to actually work on it."

"Hey, I just welded stuff and helped you tease Shiro.  It was easy street for me."  He yawned hard enough that he heard his jaw crack.  "Mmph.  Sleep.  Leave the rebel plans with me?  I'll finish 'em first thing tomorrow."

"You sure?"

Ryou nodded, leaning farther into Matt.  Pulling away seemed like so much effort, much less getting up and walking to his room. "Yeah, I do it all the time.  And I'll be up early no matter what.  Blame Shiro's stupid internal clock."

Matt gave him a look of complete pity.  "That sucks, man."

"Mhmm."

There was a long pause, comfortable and heavy as they stayed flopped against each other.  Finally, Matt sighed.  "You know, while I was testing, I had a thought."

Ryou's brows rose.  "That can't be good."

Snorting, Matt shook his head.  "You're not wrong.  But I was thinking.... why hasn't Pidge made another Rover yet?  It's not really hard."

Huh.  Ryou had never really questioned that.

"Because it's hard to find the time?" Ryou guessed carefully.  "Like you said, doing it alone would have taken a lot longer, and Pidge has even more projects on her plate than you."

Matt hummed.  "Maybe.  Or maybe she didn't want to.  Maybe she was... respecting the first Rover.  She said Rover was her closest friend out here, until she could open up to the rest of the team."

Oh, ow.  Ryou's stomach twisted and rolled.  Yes, Pidge tended to attach herself to technology quickly, even getting emotionally tangled in them.  But it was still so sad, to think of Pidge feeling so isolated that her closest companion was a robot she'd just stolen from the enemy not a week before.  She hadn't been able to trust everyone else until after Rover had sacrificed itself.

Swallowing hard, Ryou took a deep breath.  "Well," he finally said.  "Maybe she didn't remake Rover because she didn't need to.  She told everyone about who she was right after.  Then she had people friends, and she didn't need a robotic one so much."

"Or maybe she tried and didn't want one," Matt continued on, voice dull.  "Or maybe she was being respectful to Rover's memory by not making a replacement."

Also possible.

Ryou smoothed his hand up and down Matt's back.  "Well, this isn't the same thing.  Yeah, it's the same basic build, but there's a lot of functionality differences.  And this is from her brother.  That makes it different than her just making another drone."

At first, Matt didn't respond.  Then he took a deep breath.  "I hope so.  I want this to make her happy."

"It will, because you made it for her.  She kept your dumb, dorky glasses because she wanted parts of you around.   A Matt-made robot is like Pidge catnip."  Ryou gave the center of his back a firm pat.  "And you can always tell her you won't be hurt if she doesn't feel comfortable.  It's about the thought.  Yeah, having a bot around to help would be nice, but we manage.  She'll like that you tried, if nothing else."

Finally, Matt nodded against Ryou's shoulder.  He pulled back and blinked rapidly.  In the low light, Ryou could see his eyes were slightly red.  "Yeah.  You're right.  Sorry, it's late.  Stuff's getting to me."

Ryou snorted.  "No kidding.  It's only-"  He paused to tap the console.  "Jeez, nearly 3 AM.  Bedtime.  Leave the plans with me, and we'll show Pidge the new bot after breakfast, alright?"

"Yeah."  Matt forced himself up to his feet, though he wobbled.  He took the sheet and pulled it over Rover, though it remained suspiciously pyramidal.  "Bed.  Best plan.  Thanks again for helping.  In more way than one."  He yawned, so hard he wavered on his feet.

Chest warm, Ryou grabbed Matt's forgotten tablet and stood. He turned the lights out behind them, then started toward the quarters, hand on Matt's back to steer him.  "Mhmm.  I said before, I'm honored to help.  But yes, bed for you.  Sleep well."

"You too."  Matt paused, then pulled Ryou in for a quick one-armed hug.  Then, before Ryou could do more than raise his arms, Matt ducked back away, waved, then walked into his room.  The doors shut behind him.

Huh.

Ryou stepped into his own room and collapsed onto the bed.  He only bothered to remove his boots, vest and shirt, and then turned on the tablet.

He was tired, yes, but not the kind of exhausted that would give him a restful sleep.  So instead he'd get started on this work and check it over in the morning.

With that, Ryou settled in for the night.

***

Pidge narrowed her eyes at the box on the table, then glanced back up at Matt.  "What's this for?  It's not a holiday, is it?"

Grinning back, Matt rocked on his heels.  There were bags under his eyes, but it didn't diminish the excited energy he put off.  Apparently, a few hours of sleep had recovered his enthusiasm.  "No reason.  I can't give my little sister something just because I want to?"

"You can," Pidge replied, though her expression didn't clear.  "Sure.  There's just usually an original thought."

Next to Matt, Ryou shrugged.  "Well, he can't exactly explain that until you open it, right?"

Pidge nodded dubiously.  "I guess."  She reached for the flaps, then paused again.  "It's not going to jump out at me, right?"

"Uh," Matt held his pointer and thumb close together.  "Not jump.  Something'll move.  It's not to scare you, though."

Pidge started to pull her hands back.

Groaning, Matt shook his head.  "No, no, I'm telling you so you won't be startled.  C'mon, when have I ever done something like this?"

"Didn't you rig your home laptop to blast an loud error tone if someone tried to log-in under an old username?" Ryou asked, brow furrowed.  "Or am I remembering that wrong."

"He did," Pidge agreed.  "And you dyed my hair with kool-aid, once."

"You wanted me to!"  Matt crossed his arms and scowled at Ryou.  "Not helping.  You want her to give up?"

Ryou shrugged.  "It's Pidge.  The curiosity will get to her eventually.  I can wait."  He rocked back and forth on his heels, comfortably smug.  Really, did Matt think Pidge was going to walk away from a mysterious package that would move if she opened it?  Please.

Pidge turned her frown to Ryou.  "I can control myself."

All Ryou did was raise an eyebrow.

"You can wait, but I can't."  Matt pulled out a chair across from Pidge and sat down.  "C'mon, I want you to see it.  Just open it already, you're killing me.  I'm going to keel over and die on the spot.  Don't do this to me."

Pidge glanced between Ryou and Matt, clearly torn between her curiosity and her wariness at their behavior.  Finally she groaned and popped open the top.

There was a pause, and then the box shook slightly, like something inside knocked the walls.  Then, slowly, Rover 2.0 rose out, green lights bright and cheerful.  It rotated in place, taking stock of the room, then focused on Pidge and let out a cheerful greeting beep.

Pidge stared, her lips parted slightly.  Then, slowly, she reached out, both palms up.  Rover 2.0 floated over and settled trustingly on the new perch.

Silence filled the room.  As the moment dragged, Matt went tense with nerves, and Ryou held her breath.

"How... is this... I don't understand."  Pidge turned her wide-eyed gaze onto Matt as her fingers started to curl around the base.

Matt's smile softened.  "Well, you talked about how you had Rover before, so I looked up the designs and.  It didn't seem that hard to make another with the ship's capabilities, and I know more than enough through the rebels to keep tech from being hacked by the Galra, so I could keep it from being cloned like it was before.  And you said Rover meant a lot to you, so I thought you might like another companion."  He paused, waiting for a response.

Pidge just continued to stare, eyes wide.

Leaning back, Matt swallowed hard.  "It- I mean, you might have had a really good reason why not to do that.  So if you don't want this little guy around it's fine.  It doesn't have to be a replacement Rover, it came be something else, or it can just live in your room with the rest of your collected junk.  That's fine.  I just wanted- you know, it seemed nice, and it was useful, and you like robots, and I can make robots, so-"

Pidge suddenly burst into movement.  She set down the robot on the table, then climbed up on the kitchen table and threw herself across it.   Her arms wrapped around Matt's shoulders as she clung to him, yanking him in close.  "Thank you!  Thank you so much!  Matt, I love it.  It's the best gift you've ever given me.  You got me a robot!"

"I mean, I did get you those robot cartoon action figures when you were eight," Matt pointed out.  Despite his jokes, his eyes went red again, and he buried his face in her hair.  "So it's not like it's the first time I got you a robot."

"You made it."  Pidge let out a watery breath.  When she pulled back, there were tear tracks down her cheeks, but she was smiling a mile wide.  "What's their name?"

Matt smiled back, his jaw distinctly wobbly again.  "That's for you to pick out."  He pulled her close so he could press a kiss to the top of her head.  "If you like them, make good use of them, okay, kiddo?  I'll feel better if there's one more someone around to help keep you safe."

"Promise."  Pidge turned around and snatched the drone out of the air again.  "Curiosity.  This one is Curiosity."

Ryou had just taken a few steps back when he let out a quiet choke.

Immediately, both Holt siblings snapped their gaze onto him.

"Sorry," he said, holding up his hands.  "I thought- Rover.  Dog name.  Like Fido.  I didn't realize you named it after the autonomous vehicle."

"It was both," Pidge said.  "That was the joke.  Funny, right?  I guess I could name this one Sirius, but I don't want to deal with the Harry Potter jokes."

Matt nodded sagely.  "I would make them.  Constantly."  Then he eyed Ryou, lips pressed thin.  "What are you doing all the way over there, anyway, Ryou?"

"Uh."  Ryou glanced at the door, not five feet behind him.  "I was going to give you guys some privacy.  I figured you'd want to show Pidge some of Curiosity's new features, so..."

Pidge's expression stormed over.  "You were just going to leave?  Didn't you help make this?"

"I mean, I helped put it together, yeah, but it was Matt's idea and he did most of the hard work, so-"

Pidge shoved herself off the table, then half-stomped her way to Ryou.  She grabbed him by the vest, then yanked his chest down until he was closer to her heigh.  Then Pidge pulled him into a tight hug.  "Thank you," she murmured, surprisingly soft after her rough treatment.  "It's a really great gift, and I love it."

Slowly, Ryou wrapped his arms back around her and held on.  "You're welcome.  I'm glad.  I owed you."

That made Pidge still.  She pulled back and frowned at him.  "For what?  I haven't done anything."

"You did.  You were one of the first people to accept me.  Me-me, I mean."  Ryou shrugged one shoulder.  "In your own way, sure, but only you and Lance were willing to trust me from the word go.  It means a lot.  So this is my thank you."

Pidge's eyes softened.  "You don't owe me for that.  I was factually right, so I just did what was right."  She pulled him in for another quick squeeze, then grabbed him by the arm and tugged him back to the table.  "You're part of this gift, so you're staying."

Brows up, Ryou looked at Matt.

But Matt only smiled back and pulled out a chair for him.  "You think you're getting out of this?  Fat chance.  You're stuck here with us."

Glancing between them both, Ryou smiled and sat down.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


	5. Coran

Ryou pulled back from the ship he'd stolen from the Galra, pushing the borrowed goggles from Hunk up on his forehead.  Next to him, his laptop sat, the progress bar rapidly filling as the new code was uploaded.  With this modification, the ship should function as a beacon for picking up Galra chatter, to funnel that into Pidge, Matt, and Hunk's tracker.  It would either work while sitting in the castle as they moved around, or if they needed to take it specific places and keep a low profile as they searched.

Of course, they could use the lions for that too, especially the Green Lion.  But Ryou liked making this ship have a different functionality that its original form.  He'd already ripped up the seating on the inside, making the pilot's chair smaller and including a mini chill-chest that would hold food and water supplies.  Then he'd replaced the Galra red-and-purple lighting with yellows and blues, and added a signal modification that would let him contact the castle nearly anywhere in the castle.

Just in case.

It also made it a lot easier to sit in for long periods of time.  Even now, Ryou barely felt a shiver.

The download would take a little while longer, so Ryou stood up as much as he could in the tight space to stretch.  His spine cracked as he leaned back, disgustingly loud.

A quick look at the clock showed that he'd been at this for three hours.  No wonder.  He was going to pick up Pidge's bad posture at this rate.

Maybe time for a break and something to eat.

Before Ryou could climb out, there was a loud crash outside the ship in the hangar proper.  He started from the noise, nearly stepping on his laptop in the process.   He stopped himself just an inch above the keys, hoping awkwardly in place as his balance suddenly had to compensate.

"The hell?"  Ryou tapped the button to open the hatch, then popped his head up.  "What's broken?"

Coran looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor.  A variety of Altean tools were scattered at his feet, including what looked like screws or nails, which were now rolling away from him.  "Nothing broke," Coran said, his lips pulled down.  "From a less than five foot drop?  I should hope not!"

Yeah, yeah, Altean design was so superior.  Ryou rolled his eyes but didn't bother starting the argument.  Instead he climbed his way out of the ship and stepped over to help scoop up the screws.  "Sure.  What are all these for?"

Coran righted the box so Ryou could put them away.  Despite his words, he gave the tech pad a close look to make sure there were no cracks.  "I was working on replacing the screws in some of the equipment in here.  The casing is coming loose and rattling about, and it's a ridiculous bother.  The Castle of Lions should not be making such a racket!  If my Grandfather could see the state of this place, he'd be horrified, you know."

Replacing screws?  On  _ everything _ in the hangar?  Why?

"I think he'd be pleased that the castle survived ten thousand years of environmental damage and stayed in near-perfectly functional," Ryou said.  "Or, at least, I hope he would.  I wouldn't know personally."

Coran nodded, though his lips still pressed together tightly.  "Yes, well, perhaps.  Even so, this is my family legacy.  I should see it through!"  He puffed up his chest as he grabbed handfuls of screws.  "This used to be a marvel of engineering.  I plan to see it remain a symbol of glory and awe throughout the galaxy."

What that had to do with loose screws, Ryou wasn't sure.  It wasn't like most people ever heard the slight rattle on take-off.  Hell, Ryou had only experienced it a handful of times, and he lived here.

Ryou leaned back his heels and tilted his head.  Coran was usually excitable.  He spoke loudly and proudly, he moved in quick, jerky movements.  He was always moving or fidgeting or working.  Ryou understood that.  Especially given all the man had lived through, it was better to be busy.  Besides that, there was so much to do, and so few of them to do it.  It lit a fire under all of them, pushing them into greater productivity.  

Within reason.

This seemed a step beyond that.  Manic, even.

But Coran wasn't likely to calm down if Ryou pointed that out.  So instead he smiled and nodded.  "Need a hand with that?  Seems like pretty tedious work, so it might go faster if you have someone to talk to."

"Oh."  Coran looked Ryou over, stroking over his mustache.  "Yes, I suppose so.  You're not working on anything else?"

"Not really.  Personal stuff, mostly."  He nodded to the Galra ship.  "I added Pidge's new program to that, and I was going to keep tricking it out.  I stopped for a bit when I started flying with Yellow, but there's no reason not to have a smaller ship ready for our use.  Maybe you'd want to take it for a spin.  You flew Hunk to the Balmera, right?"

Coran nodded, following Ryou's gaze.  "Yes, I did.  I haven't flown anything but the castle since, have I?"  He idly ran a hand through his hair.  "An odd thought.  I suppose that might be useful, though I have more utility on the castle."

"It's not all about utility," Ryou said.  "Maybe you just want to go for a joy ride?  It's there if you want it too."  He reached out to pick up the last several screws and dump them back into their box.  

There was a long pause, as Coran stared at the ship.  "Maybe someday soon.  We have screws to replace."  He scooped up the box and gave it an encouraging shake.

Ryou pressed his lips thin, not exactly looking forward to the chore he'd just assigned himself.  But with Coran acting so jumpy and doing such odd tasks, Ryou wanted to get to the bottom of this.

So he was in it for the long haul, apparently.

"Where do we start?"

Coran gave him a screwdriver, a handful of screws, and set him to work on the console paneling.  Ryou pulled out all the old screws, carefully setting them aside so he could keep them apart.  There was some wear to them, around the edges of the head and where the screwdriver fit in, but it wasn't significant.  Even so, Ryou dutifully switched them out with a new set.  On the other side of the room, Coran did the same thing to one of the diagnostic machines the used for repairs.

As Ryou finished up his work, he moved on to the next closest machine.  He waited, watching Coran from the corner of his eyes.  He was moving fast - unsurprising, he always did - as he industriously bent over his tasks.  

He didn't speak, which was the really strange thing.

Instead, Ryou turned around.  "May I ask a possibly weird question?"

"If you'd like," Coran agreed, glancing back over his shoulder.  "Is something the matter?"

"No, not particularly.  I was just thinking about the castle.  Your grandfather built it, so you were around for that.  But was it built for the lions, or was it just retrofitted for them?"

Coran paused, fingers tightening around his screwdriver.  "Ah.  It was... half and half, perhaps?  The plans were already drawn up and construction had begun.  This was shortly after the alliance with the other four who would become paladins.  We needed something to showcase the benefits and resources of our combined power.  But then the comet landed and the rift formed.  The lions were created so quickly.  King Alfor barely slept those weeks."  His hand dropped into his lap as his eyes hazed with soft memory.  "Then we suddenly had these mechanical beasts, and a new, more impressive way of showing why the alliance was the best thing for the universe.  Grandfather was quite put out."

Lips curling up, Ryou leaned back against the wall.  "He got upstaged by some robots, huh?"

"To say the least.  The Castle of Lions is a marvel and as stunning a creation as I've ever seen Altean hands make.  But the lions are something different.  They're otherworldly - literally."  Coran shook his head, still smiling.  "So, yes, he wasn't well pleased.  He resisted quite strenuously when the castle was to be made to suit the lions.  But he agreed, and he created the system you all use to get to your lions now."

Ryou's brows rose.  "Oh, so we have him to thank for those zip lines, huh?"

That earned him a flat look.  "Those were quite fashionable, I'll have you know. Top of the line!  Everyone wanted a zip line."

"I'm sure."  Even if it was kind of silly.  Maybe it was like the retro movement - old fashioned, nearly primitive tech by the standards of the day.  Next time it got brought up, Ryou was going to have to compare it to vinyl records.  Shiro would hate that, which would be fun.  "Well, he did a great job.  I can't imagine designing this much.  I have trouble keeping up with you all on the little projects we do.  Much less designing those huge engines, and the control room, all the weapons capabilities, the ballroom, the pod room-"

Suddenly, Coran's expression closed off.  "He was amazing.  Thus why we must keep this place up to snuff!  Back at it."  He whirled in place and threw himself into his work again, at an even faster pace than before.

...Huh.

Ryou watched Coran work at his break-neck speed.  Then he got back to his own work, mulling on that.

What had he said that had bothered him?  He'd been fine discussing his grandfather and the lions.  It was on the design portion that he seemed to clam up.

Maybe he was feeling like he couldn't match up?  After all, having such a huge accomplishment to compare to had to be tough.  Ryou had thrown himself into work more than once because he wasn't sure how he compared to a relation, though that was a very different situation.  

Or maybe something about the control room was bothering him?  Or the ballroom?  Maybe Coran was thinking of better times, and upset at reminders?

Ryou wanted to know, but he didn't want to press too hard either.  After all, Coran had no obligation to share if he didn't want to.  And if he just wanted to throw himself into work to avoid what was bothering him, then Ryou would be a massive hypocrite to call him out on it.  Let him handle his problems however worked for him.

Unless Ryou could help-

"Are you still helping, or do you have something else you need to be doing?"  Coran eyed him, both eyebrows raised.

Right, working.  Project.  Physical movement, and not just staring at the wall as he thought.

"I'm helping," Ryou said.  He knee-walked to the next machine, still carefully keeping the old screws away from the new ones.

What to do now?

Coran needed a distraction, clearly.  And if he was struggling to distract himself with work, he wouldn't appreciate video games or paintball or Rover projects or all the other things Ryou used to help the paladins keep their mind off of their worries.

He needed a project.

Ryou's eyes darted back to the Galra ship, and his lips quirked up.

It was a little impulsive, but Ryou was allowed to do that.  It wouldn't kill them.  Probably.

But Ryou couldn't put his plan into action until Coran was done with this task.  So he kept his head down and stayed focused, working on matching Coran's buzzing energy until every single casing screw was replaced with a brand new one.

(If Ryou's fingertips hurt like hell at the end, it was worth it to keep Coran from doing all the work.)

"I'll take those," Coran offered, holding out his hand for the old screws.  "I can put them with the other used supplies.  They might be good for other uses, still, or they can be melted down to remake them into something else."

Ryou nodded and handed over his supplies.  "Are you moving on to the next project, or do you have time to help me out with something?"

Immediately, Coran perked, eyes bright.  "I'd be happy to lend my assistance!  What is it that you need?"

"Actually, it has to do with the Galra ship."  Ryou ducked his head down like he was bashful.  "I've been working on an program to help auto-navigate, and to give it a speed boost like what Pidge did to the other ones.  I tried to make it not, you know, explode.  Since the person flying it might not have a lion to come get them.  But it's buggy, and I can't figure out why."

Nothing Ryou said was technically a lie.  He had started on it, in a fit of frustration when he'd thought he'd never be a paladin.  It had been a one-day thing, before he'd given up on the entire project in frustration.  Programming didn't come naturally to him, at least compared to the much more intuitive and physical aspects of engineering.  He'd learned the basics at the Garrison (or, rather, Shiro had) and he'd never needed to keep up with it like he had engineering repair.  So one night had been enough to make a program that ran, if only just.  Ryou hadn't touched it since.

But it was a way better use than replacing screws, to say the least.

Coran considered Ryou, his gaze softening.  "That still worries you, does it?"

"A little," Ryou admitted.  He swallowed hard and kept his gaze on the ground, half for the charade and half out of his own discomfort.  "But it's good.  What if you or Matt needs to borrow it?  You can both fly, and you don't have lions to use.  If you ever need to follow the castle or one of the lions outside of the portals, this would help.  Maybe not for a really long distance, but you could at least get in communications range."

A hand settled on Ryou's shoulder, making him jump.  "That sounds like a worthy project.  I'd be happy to take it for a quick test run."  Coran gave a fierce squeeze.  "Thank you for trusting me to help."

Ryou's cheeks went pink.  "Why not?  You're really good at this, and it might be helping you.  I've got Yellow, now.  Doesn't really matter to me."  Even to his own ears, his voice sounded hollow, made of false cheer and studied disregard.  He ignored that and nodded.  "So let's go for a ride."

With one last squeeze, Coran nodded and headed for the Galra craft.  "Will it have the space for two?"

"Uh.  I mean, it wasn't designed for that.  But we'll make it work.  I'll sit on the fridge, so long as the space cops won't pull us over for a lack of seat belts."

Coran paused, one foot already inside the open hatch.  "Space cops?  Like the ones that Lance mentioned on our first flight?  Why would they be searching for seat's belts."

Oh, boy.  Ryou bit the inside of his cheek as he followed Coran up.  "They're not real.  Or, well, you won't find them outside of the area immediately around Earth or any of our colonies.  Seat belts hold someone in place in their seat.  They're required when you drive."

"These space cops require you to be tied to your chair?"  Coran settled into the pilot's seat, though he leaned to the side so Ryou could get in as well.  "That seems very devious.  Why would they do that to people?"

Ryou opened his mouth, then closed it.  "Honestly, it's not worth explaining.  It's because we didn't always have inertia dampeners, that's all.  Don't worry about it.  Worry about flying, instead."

Coran eyed him for another moment, still obviously curious.  But the promise of flying seemed to be worth more than answers, because he focused ahead instead.  A flip of a switch opened the doors above, giving them access to open space.  "What exact is it you want me to test?  I admit, I don't wish to experience being exploded.  I'm not wearing a helmet, and open space does terrible things to my hair."

"I bet."  Ryou grinned back.  "The tracker part was giving me the most trouble anyway.  Pidge already had the engine boost done, I just had to graft it on.  But when I tested it, it sometimes gave me really weird, double responses.  I'm not sure why."

With a nod, Coran lifted off.  Ryou squirmed, trying to get comfortable in the very limited space he had.  Like he'd told Coran, he'd taken a seat on top of the chill chest, but it was a little too tall.  Ryou's head kept hitting the top of the cockpit, and he had no place for his legs to go, so he had to keep them folded against his chest. This was not a space made for any human-sized being, to be sure.

But it was functional, and Ryou was mostly settled by the time Coran got them a good distance away.  The ship turned as Coran activated the tracking program.  It took a long time to load up, a remnant of the rushed and messy coding within.  Then it showed a blank map of the area around them, with a single beeping dot to show where to go.

Coran hummed thoughtfully and stared to fly around the castle.  The dot moved accordingly, if not very smoothly.  The image would flicker occasionally, but the signal remained strong.

"Seems to be working," he finally said.  "What is it using to measure where the castle is?"

Ryou paused, his brows up.  "Uh, well, I tried to get it to use the same energy the lions use, but, you know, at the time I was starting this I couldn't really ask.  And I wasn't sure I could really understand or measure that anyway.  'Cause, you know, magic."  He waggled his fingers.  "Kinda hard to work with when you aren't already magic."

"It's certainly not as simple as technology, I'll give you that."  Coran nodded, but it was indulgent, like he thought Ryou's cluelessness was endearing.

....Focus.  Coran was acting weird.  Keep focused on that, and not on the Altean superiority complex.  

Ryou shrugged, only slightly jerky.  "Yeah.  So instead I used a copy of the machine Hunk used to find the Blue Lion, and instead measured what the castle put off.  That seemed to work well enough.  And it worked fine at first, but then as I was messing with it, there was another signal messing around.  I don't think anything puts off the same energy as the castle, since it's so unique, so I don't know what could be causing it.  Not the lions, since it was only one."

"Interesting."  Coran tilted his head, then started to move back toward the castle.  “I may have an answer for you, but it'll take a tricky bit of flying."

Ryou perked, then grinned at Coran.  "Yeah?  You're speaking my language, here."

"No, I'm not.  That would be the translators."  But Coran smiled, proof enough that he was purposefully missing the point.  He didn't give Ryou a chance to respond, instead making his steady way toward the castle.

Specifically, a blank wall of the castle.

And he wasn't stopping.

Ryou tensed, gripping the edges of the chill chest.  "Uh, what's the plan here, Coran?"

"Give me a moment."

They weren't stopping.

...Maybe this plan had been a bad idea.

Just as Ryou tensed up and closed his eyes, prepared for a painful impact, the ship came to a sudden halt as the forward thrusters were engaged.  It wasn't quite enough to stop them, but the crash felt more like bumper cars than a car wreck.

Even so, it jolted Ryou hard enough that he teetered off the edge of his perch.  His arm snapped out, grabbing onto the seat, and instead he almost ended up falling into Coran's lap.  "Shoot, sorry."  He scrambled back away, almost falling off again in the process.  He had to grab onto the pipe along the side to keep himself upright.  "Okay, there.  Did your test work?"

Coran frowned and shook his head, though he put a hand on Ryou's shoulder to help steady him again.  "Not yet.  But perhaps-"  He started to fly along the wall of the castle, remaining just a couple of feet away.  He turned the corner, brow furrowed with concentration.  "Hmm... it should be around here, I believe..."

Apparently, Coran was all in on keeping this to himself.  Ryou sighed and settled back, wondering how to turn this goofy trip into a way to get Coran to open up.

...He had nothing.  It had seemed like a good idea at the time, mostly because Coran had seemed so interested in flying.

Finally, they came to another sudden stop.  This time, Coran reached out and took a firm hold of Ryou's arm, keeping him in place so he didn't fall.  "There we are.  I found your second signal."

True to Coran's word, there was no another dot on the screen.  It was hard to tell, since they were the same blue color, but there was just the hint of a second circle peeking out from under the first.

"I don't understand," Ryou admitted.  "What is that?"

"That would be the Princess."  Coran smiled at the wall, as if he could see through it to Allura.  "The energy that runs through the castle now is hers, filtered and amplified through the Balmera crystal. "  The smile faltered, slowly slipping away.  "Just hers, now."

Ryou froze, watching Coran carefully.  "That would explain it.  I didn't think it could be a person.  The signal was almost as strong as the castle itself.  If it's coming from the source, that makes sense."  He waited another moment, then swallowed hard.  "Hey, Coran?  Are you alright?"

Coran's fingers tightened on the controls.  "Of course, Ryou.  Do I look ill?"

"No," Ryou replied, still picking each word carefully.  "You seem sad.  I understand if you don't want to think about it, or maybe I'm reading you wrong, but if you'd like to talk I can listen.  Maybe I can help."

Finally, Coran slumped in his seat.  His eyes still hadn't left the approximate location of Allura's room.  "No, I don't believe you can.  This isn't something anything can help with.  This is something I can only wait out."  He glanced at Ryou from the corner of his eyes.  "How well do you keep track of the days?"

Ryou paused.  "We try," he admitted.  "Hunk has that program that does a decent job of keeping track.  We know it's off, just because of time distortions, but it's the best we have."

"An Earth year isn't the same as an Altean year either," Coran said.  "Ours are a hair shorter, I believe.  But today is- well.  Today it has been one year for Allura and myself since her father had us sent away for safekeeping."

Oh.  Ryou's stomach went cold as he followed Coran's gaze.  "I'm so sorry, Coran.  I didn't realize."

"No way you could have," Coran said, forced cheer back in his voice.  "Our years are different, as I said.  And it hasn’t been either of our years since we woke up.  For Allura, it was the same moment.  For myself, there was some time between."

Realization settled in Ryou's chest like a stone.  "You had to fly the castle away.  So you were awake for longer.  And- that's why you jumped out ready to fight, isn't it?"

Coran smiled, dark and sad.  "Yes to all.  I made a wormhole jump with the energy left, and then I flew the rest of the way.  We wanted to make it as difficult to track us as possible.  Then, I found the planet Alfor and I had agreed upon, uninhabited and quiet.  I went into a pod as well, so I would be there whenever Allura awoke and needed me."  The smile fell again.  "Except for today."

Which was why Coran had been throwing himself into work.  Both to avoid the awful anniversary, but also to have a reason keep back from Allura.  She would have seen through his energy immediately, and if she asked, Coran would probably spill.

"She was asleep before you, though.  It isn't an anniversary to her, right?"

Coran shook his head.  "No, not for her.  She has so much else going on that I'm not sure she's paying attention either.  I don't want to bother her with this.  There's no reason to put this weight on her as well."

"Would she see it that way?" Ryou asked.

Lips pressed thin, Coran looked away.  "She might not, but I do.  It's my duty to protect her, not to have her shoulder my feelings."

Ryou opened his mouth, then shut it.  This wasn't the same problem Shiro had.  His brother might have the same excuses for his behavior, but his were rooted in fears that didn't make sense - that his emotions made him dangerous, that they would hurt how the others saw him.  Besides which, he was their commanding officer, but it wasn't the same relationship that Allura had with Coran.  He was her surrogate father, and this was something parents did.

But that didn't mean Coran had to deal with it alone.

Ryou shifted, turning to face Coran.  "I'm not sure if you want to talk about it, but...  At least on Earth, it's common to mourn people by telling stories of them.  Especially on anniversaries or holidays, times they're especially missed.  It hurts to talk about it, sometimes, but it's also nice to remember the good times instead of... instead of the end."

"That's a common tradition throughout the universe," Coran said.  "Stories are a staple of every intelligent species.  Once you are developed enough for cause and effective, the mind craves narrative."  His shoulders slumped, and his eyes were glassy and wet as he looked over.  "You all don't normally like my stories very much."

Ryou winced, stomach twisting with guilt.  It was a fair catch.  "It's not that we don't appreciate them.  But we tend to be busy and focused, and so we don't always have time.  Your stories are fun.  Besides, today is different.  And I'm asking."

Coran stared him down.  Then, finally, he nodded.  "Then yes, I wouldn't mind sharing some.  Are you comfortable enough?"

"Sure," Ryou lied.  "So long as we don't hit anymore walls."

"And you can hear about... some of the players?"

Ryou's stomach dropped, but he kept his smile up.  "Sure.  Haggar isn't the person she was, and neither is Zarkon.  Hearing about them as they were is good.  As paladins we have a huge responsibility, and enormous amounts of power.  It's important not to let the second outweigh the first.”

That earned him a flash of a smile, though it was still thin.  "Well said.  How about I start off with the first time the original paladins tried a diplomatic approach?"

"From your tone, I'm guessing it was a disaster."

Coran's smile grew, real and shining.  "Oh, that's an understatement.  What you have to understand is..."

***

Several hours later, Ryou ushered a clearly exhausted Coran to his room.  Between story four and five, he'd started to flag, and by six he was drooping in his chair.  If Ryou had to guess, he'd say Coran hadn't slept very well the past night or so.

"I can't go to bed," Coran insisted, jaw set despite the slump to his shoulders.  "There's still so much to do."

"And we can take care of it," Ryou insisted.  "Matt and I are around to help out, now, so you can afford to take an afternoon off.  If something happens, you'll be the first to know.  But do you want to be in command of the ship in battle while you can barely keep your eyes open?"

Coran grumbled darkly.  "I've flown ships like this in worse conditions for more hours than you've been alive."

"Then you've earned plenty of vacation time," Ryou continued, unbothered by the protests.  "In you go.  Please?"  When Coran's jaw stayed set, Ryou bit back a sigh and used his secret weapon.  "In a few days, Allura is going to have a bad day too.  You'll want to be completely rested and there for her, right?"  

"I-" Coran signed. "I know you're manipulating me."

"Is it working?"

"Yes."  Coran huffed, but finally placed his palm to the door, which opened.  He turned and pulled Ryou into a one-armed hug, squeezing tight enough to make Ryou's spine crack.  "Thank you, my boy.  For listening."

Ryou smiled back as pink started to creep over his cheeks.  "No problem.  Least I could do.  Now bed, before you break my back."

Coran shook his head, but it was fond.  "You humans are so fragile."  With a last pat on his shoulder, he slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

Immediately, Ryou let out a giant sigh of relief and slumped against the wall.  After hours of sitting stooped in a space too small for him, Ryou's back was  _ killing _ him.  He needed an ice pack and at least a few minutes laying down.

But before he could slump his way to the kitchens, a throat cleared behind him.

Ryou started and turned around, then straightened as he saw Allura.  "Oh, Princess!  Did you need something?"  Then he glanced back nervously at Coran's door.  "How long have you been there?"

"A couple of minutes."

Dammit.  Curse her soft footsteps.  

But before Ryou could stammer out an explanation, Allura stepped forward and smiled at him.  "Thank you.  I still don't know precisely what's going on, but I know that Coran has been bothered by something.  He isn't very subtle when he's avoiding me."

Oh, boy.  "He's been very busy today," Ryou said, despite it being a clear lost cause.  He wasn't a quitter who gave up people's secrets, not if he could help it.  

Allura gave him an indulgent look.  "Well, then, thank you for helping him out with his very busy schedule."  She wrapped her hand around his shoulder, then pulled Ryou down until she could press a gentle kiss to his cheek.  "The bet is off.  Whatever you did to help Coran was better than anything I could have asked you to do."

Ryou's eyes widened, and he was sure his ears had gone bright red.  One hand come up to touch where she'd kissed him.  "Oh.  Um.  That's not- you know what?  I'm going to take that, because I've been terrified of your bet."

"As you should be."  Allura patted him on the shoulder, then let him go.  "Now go lie down as well, please.  You look like you need it."

Yeah, that one Ryou couldn't deny.  He gave a bland smile.  "Ice pack first.  But that's an order I can follow.  I'll see you at dinner, then."  He started down the hall, then paused.   "Oh, and Princess?"

"Yes?"

Ryou turned, head tilted as he considered her.  "I'm not sure how you feel about your magic.  I know you haven't used it much, and Lance won't tell me about what you two talk about.  But you're incredibly powerful.  I was making a tracker for the castle and I accidentally ended up following you instead.  I can't tell you what to do with your abilities, but I think you could do just about anything.  And I think your family would be proud.  I know Coran is."

Allura stared at him, eyes wide and hands folded tightly in front of her.  "I- I appreciate hearing that."

"You're welcome.  Just figured it was worth saying. Have a good afternoon, Princess."  He nodded to her, then headed down the hallway.

He didn't hear her speak, or even move.  But Ryou still smiled as he went.

It wasn't until he was several turns away that he let himself touch the spot she'd kissed him again.

Pretty different from when she'd kicked his ass and threatened him.  Ryou had to say he preferred it this way.


	6. Keith

If there was one thing Ryou could always count on, it was the ego of anyone who tried to fight Voltron.

The leader of the bounty hunters leaned down, a grin splitting his face.  His skin was grey and mottled, like thick stone, and each movement made it audibly grind together.  That didn't stop him from fully expressing his amusement at the situation.  "Well, look what we have here.  Two paladins of Voltron, and we barely even had to try.  I don't know why it is you've been giving the Galra so much trouble."

Next to Ryou, Keith pulled at the chains keeping him tied to the wall.   "Let me out and I'll show you."

"I don't think so," the leader said, head tilted lazily.  "You can keep pulling on that, but you won't be getting anywhere. Those restraints are good quality.  Those skinny little arms of yours aren't going to be able to break them."

Keith let out a growl, eyes narrowed with temper.  He pulled again, harder this time.  The joints keeping the chains attached to the wall strained, but there was no sign of breaking.

There hadn't been, the whole time Keith had been tugging.  But he hadn't made any effort to stop, and Ryou hadn't had a chance to talk to him.

So instead Ryou cleared his throat, bringing the leader's attention to himself instead.  "You going to get to the point soon, or do you want to keep bragging?"

The leader fixed their dark eyes on Ryou.  They looked like darker stones, glimmering just under the lip of the rocky skin.  "I'm enjoying the bragging," he said, without a hint of shame in his voice.  "You're that impatient to get going?  I figured you wouldn't be too excited about being sold off to the Galra."

Ryou's stomach sank, though he wasn't surprised.  There was no reason to kidnap paladins without trying to get something out of the Galra, same as Rolo and Nyma had tried to use the lions as a bargaining chip.  "That's cute, that you think they won't just come and take us.   How well do you hold up against Galra blaster fire, out of curiosity?"

"Better than you, fleshy."  The leader moved in close and poked Ryou firmly in the chest. Even through his armor, he could feel the impact.  "I've got plans for that, don't you worry."

Keith suddenly shifted, lashing out with his unbound foot.  His heel caught the leader in the jaw, striking with enough force to let out a loud _crack._

But the leader barely even shifted from the blow.  He blinked, and his lips ground down into a frown as he slowly turned to look at Keith.

"That was a bad idea, friend."

With that, the leader wound his huge, rocky hand back, and smacked Keith hard across the face.

Ryou let out a hiss, pulling against his own chains.  But there was nothing he could do to stop the blow.

Keith's head snapped to the side from the force of it, nearly sending him to the floor.  Only the taut chains kept him up.  When he pulled his head back up, his cheeks were bloodied and raw, like he'd landed face first in gravel.

The leader pulled his hand back and stood, the movements slow and threatening.  "Storn, get over here and restrain the prisoner's legs."

"Got it, Boss."  One of the two cronies standing by the door scrambled over.  They pulled another set of chains and cuffs out of a box in the corner, then took hold of Keith's leg.  Like before, Keith tried to kick out, but this time the target was prepared for it.  Storn quickly locked up both ankles, first wrapping the chain around so they were stuck together, then hooking the end into the wall.

The other stepped forward, tense like they were waiting for a blow.  Ryou couldn't say he wasn't tempted, but now wasn't the time.  The sight of Keith's wounded face pumped poison into his blood with each frantic beat of his heart, stroking his already burning temper.  But with all three of them watching closely, and the both of them restrained, he couldn't do anything.

There would be an opportunity later.  The rest of their team would come, or someone would slip up, or there would be a chance to get the key.  But that couldn't happen if they were both too beaten to move, or knocked out.

The third stone-man spoke, eyes narrowed at Keith and Ryou.  "Hey, Gralev?"

"What?" The leader asked, without removing his cold gaze from Keith.

"Are we sure we got the right ones?"

Gralev's eyes widened, then he turned around, face already twisted in anger.  "What do you mean, right ones?  Those are paladins."

The alien shrugged.  "I just mean- I watched those videos.  Those weird shows?  Neither of them were in it."

Storn looked up from his work and knocked Keith on the back.  "Don't be stupid, Krok.  This one is red.  Like the red ship."

"No, the blue one is in the red ship," Krok said.  "And the pink one is in the blue."

"That makes no sense!"

"You want to watch the stupid show?  I'll show you.  And there was no white one at all, ship or armor!"

Ryou held his breath and glanced toward Keith.  When he finally caught his eye, he opened his mouth, then shut it hard.   _Keep quiet._

Keith's eyes narrowed, his jaw set in open dislike.  But he didn't argue, at least for the moment.

Gralev stopped his foot hard.  The other two both immediately shut up and straightened up, their attention on them.  Clearly that was some sort of signal for them, and they were well trained in it.    "Enough.  We'll let the Galra sort it out.  Maybe we didn't get paladins, but they're definitely allies of Voltron, and they're wearing the same armor.  Either the Galra will pay, or the _paladins_ will.  One way or another."

That made both his cronies nod, though Krok still looked rebellious.  

"We got things to be doing.  Your know your jobs.  Both of you get to work, and keep on eye on the feeds."  Gralev gave another stomp, and they both nodded and fled out the door.  Once they were gone, he turned and eyed them both.  

Keith showed his teeth, somewhere between baring his fangs and smiling.  They were stained pink, so either some of the blood from his cheeks and gotten in his mouth, or he'd bitten his tongue during the blow.  "Whoops.  That was a dumb mistake you made, huh?"

What part of _shut up_ didn't Keith understand?

Ryou opened his mouth to say something - anything at all that would distract Gralev - but it was too late.  Gralev stepped forward and put his foot on Keith's chest.  The force of him knocked Keith down almost immediately, since he couldn't keep his balance with his feet locked up and strained.  Then, he leaned forward, putting more and more of his weight down.  The armor creaked with the force, but Keith kept his gaze steady.

"You mighta just got a whole lot less valuable, Red," Gralev said.  His foot pushed down harder, and Keith finally winced.  "I'd think twice about using that mouth of yours."

Ryou shifted forward as best he could, heart hammering in his throat.  "He's still worth more to you alive," he said, trying to keep his voice steady instead of desperate.  "You sure you want to do this?"

There was a long pause.  Then, finally, Gralev pulled his foot up.  "One of you is payday enough," he said.  "Remember that."

Then, he turned around and left.  The heavy door slid shut behind him, and there were audible clicks as the locks engaged.

Ryou turned and scrambled forward on his knees, getting as close to Keith as the chains would allow.  "Keith, are you alright?"

"Fine."  Keith pushed himself up, though he couldn't hide another wince.  "Is my armor damaged?"

Looking it over, Ryou sighed. "No, not yet.  But it can only do so much.  I'm not sure how well it'd hold up if that jackass put all his weight on it."  It survived battle conditions, but there was only so much it could do when a giant rock man was standing on Keith’s chest.

Keith shrugged.  "Like you said, we're valuable alive.  I'm not going to give him what he wants."

"Or, we can keep our mouths shut and wait it out until the team finds us.  Then we'll have our legs free to run if we get the chance."  Ryou's brows rose, gaze flat.  "Come here, would you?  I want to make sure nothing's broken after all that."

All the got was a flat look.  "I'm fine."

Ryou took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.  "Keith.  Please."

"What are you going to do about it?" Keith asked, pinning him with a flat gaze.  "All you can do is look.  Your arms are tied."

True.  Ryou let out a long sigh.  "Fine, you're right.  But please, at least don't antagonize.  We just need to stall them for long enough for a rescue."  He looked around the room, trying to determine where they were.  The walls were all dull, dark-gray metal, and other than hooks for the chains and a some storage, there was nothing here.

Worse, he couldn't tell if they were in a ship or in a building.  If they were still on the planet Gralev and his goons had jumped them, it'd be easier to escape and easier to find the team.  If not, they were well and truly stuck for now.

Keith scooted back as best he could, kicking his legs to the side to get the chains out of the way.  Then he flopped against the wall, taking a deep breath.

Ryou watched him, stomach twisting.  "Would you tell me if you were having trouble breathing?"

That made Keith start.  "I would.  Why would I keep that to myself?"

Because Keith still wasn't comfortable around Ryou, not really.  Because he was intensely private, just like Shiro, though it manifested completely differently.  Because Keith was like a wounded animal at times, puffing himself up to look bigger and stronger so no one would dare to hurt him.

Because Ryou wasn't Shiro, and Keith rarely opened up to anyone else.

"Just asking."  Ryou settled down as well, keeping a carefully foot between them.  They were chained up right next to each other, out of what looked like necessity - there was another hook on the far wall, but it looked like it had been bent out of shape.  The last prisoner these bounty hunters had taken must have been a lot stronger than a human.

The kind of strong Ryou might be if it wasn't for the stupid inhibitor on his arm. He was really starting to hate those things.

Silence held for a long time.  Eventually, Keith closed his eyes and settled back.  His breathing evened out, though it never deepened, and he stayed so quiet it seemed he'd fallen asleep.  But then he cracked open one eye, catching Ryou mid-stare.  "You have a plan, then?"

"Wait and learn, for the moment" Ryou admitted.  "There's no many variables, right now.  Eventually they're going to have to let us up to use the bathroom, and at that point at least we'll be able to see what they use to unlock us, and maybe where they keep it.  That'll be a start.  If not, we have to come up with ways to keep them from selling us off right away.  If the Galra get their hands on us..."

"Yeah," Keith said, eye falling back closed.  "That'll be bad.  The Blade might be able to get to us then, but..."

But they might not hear about it in time.  But there might not be anyone in a position to help.  But they might decide the rescue mission didn't have a high enough success rate to try.  Ryou didn't blame them - no sense losing an extra member along with the paladins anyway.  It wasn't the call Ryou would make, but it was probably the smarter one.  It was like Keith had said, when Allura was kidnapped.  Was it worth killing all of them for a rescue mission that was probably doomed?  He would have been right, if it hadn't been for a Blade member acting on the fly.

Even so, Ryou's stomach flipped.  "It'd be very bad.  At that point, you can make as many comments as you want.  But until then, I'd prefer neither of us have broken ribs."

Keith sighed but nodded.  "I know.  But that Gralev guy is so _smug._   I can't help it."

Despite the situation, Ryou still let out a bark of laughter.  "Yeah, he wants respect and deference just because of authority.  I remember how much you like that."

"Yeah."  Keith eyes snapped open as he looked over Ryou.  "Shiro used to defend Garrison instructors like that."

Ryou snorted.  "No, Shiro told you the same thing I'm telling you now.  Keep your head down, ignore it and just get by.  And this whole stupid kidnapping?  It's going to be way easier to survive than Hedrick's calc class."

For the first time, Keith cracked a hint of a smile.  "I guess.  It won't last as long, at least.  I think Gralev might me smugger than him, though."

"Impossible.  We'll call it a draw."  Ryou risked scooting a little closer.  Keith tensed up, clearly surprised by the move, but then he relaxed again.

It still made Ryou's stomach twist to see.  For a little while, he'd gotten to be Keith's favorite person.  The one he relaxed around, the one he trusted with his thoughts and feelings.  Then it had turned out to be a lie.  He still didn't begrudge Keith his reaction.  Now, Ryou just barely ranked below the rest of the team, and that was a huge improvement.  It was still more than the rest of the universe got, including most of the Blade of Marmora.

But Ryou still missed when Keith was his closest friend.

Keith let out a low sigh and nodded.  "We can get through this.  I know we were knocked out, but it doesn't feel like it's been a long time.  How about for you?"

"Hard to say.  Probably not?  Being unconscious for a long time feels heavy, usually.  But I wouldn't put money on it."  Ryou rested his head back against the wall and tapped the heel of his boot against the floor.  "You know, the inertia dampeners that everyone has is really awesome for, like, flying and Voltron.  But it really sucks for telling if we're moving or not.  If this was a Garrison vessel, we'd be able to tell immediately if it was moving."

Considering that, Keith glanced at him.  "You think Gralev would go to the Galra, or do you think he's going to make the Galra come to us?"

"I don't want to assume either way.  I'm hoping the later.  It's way harder to steal an escape pod than to run out the door."  Ryou rolled his back, the best he could do to stretch under the circumstances.  "Either way, we wait."

Keith sighed again, less happily.  He closed his eyes again and settled in.  "I hate waiting."

"I know," Ryou murmured.  He watched the door, straining for anything he could hear.  But there was nothing.  "Me too."

"I know."

***

They were left for a long time.  It was hard to say, when it was just the two of them in an empty room.  Ryou finally managed to spot some sort of device in a dark corner of the room.  There were no lights on it, but there was a tiny hint of a glint, like light reflecting off of glass.  That was probably the feed Gralev had talked about, which meant they were definitely being monitored.

But those two also had jobs, which meant they'd be distracted at least some of the time.  And hopefully they weren't listening in, or else Ryou's bare plan was already in trouble.

Next to him, Keith continued to stay still.  Now that there was no one to rebel against, he seemed to be taking Ryou's advice.  Or maybe his chest and face hurt enough that he was trying not to move.

Ryou hoped it was the first, if only because the second made his stomach roll with fury.  It was bad enough he had to see the dried blood on Keith's cheeks.  He didn't need more reasons to lose his head.

Finally, the door creaked open.  Krok and Storn stepped in, watching both of them carefully.  Storn held two bowls in his huge hands, while Krok had a large back thrown over his shoulder.

Immediately, Ryou sat up straighter, as Keith blinked his eyes open and glared at the new additions.

"Getting comfy?" Storn asked mockingly, lips curling back in a smirk.  He had no visible teeth between his lips, and there was a chip at the edge of his mouth, not unlike a scar.  "You want some blankets?  Maybe some pillows?"

Ryou didn't answer, his brows up.  He pressed the side of his thigh to Keith's, hoping to remind him not to rise to the bait.

At the lack of reaction, Storn's face fell.  He dropped both bowls onto the floor.  The water inside sloshed, much of it lost on the floor.  "For you two."

Stomach sinking, Ryou immediately knew what Storn wanted.

But Keith rattled his chains again, one brow raised sardonically.  "A little problem with that."

Krok let out a snorting laugh.  "No problem here."  And they both waited.

Slowly, Keith's eyes widened as he figured it out too.  "No way," he said, sitting up.  He looked down at the bowls, then crinkled his nose in distaste.  

"Oh, you don't want the water?" Storn asked.  He bent down to pick it back up.  "Guess you don't need any.  I'll just take this back."

"Wait," Ryou called.  Next to him, Keith stilled.

Then, Ryou took a deep breath and leaned forward as best he could.  He drank directly from the bowl like an animal.

Immediately, Storn and Krok let out chortles of glee.  "This one knows his place," Krok said, sounding giddy that their little power play had worked.  Something heavy and solid hit the back of Ryou's head, forcing him further into the water.  His face jammed against the bottom of the bowl, held there firmly.

"Hey!" Keith called, horror and disgust in his voice.  "Stop that!"

"Why should he?" Storn asked, all lazy confidence.  "You gunna stop him?"

Ryou tried to move his head out of pure instinct, but the foot pressed down harder.  Instead he stilled and took a few more gulps, until there was the first hint of air at the edges of his lips.  It was messy, but at least Ryou could breathe.

This wasn't the first time this had happened.  Not in a long time, but not the first.

All he could do was wait it out.

Finally, after a long minute, the stone foot pulled away.  Ryou yanked back immediately, face dripping and bangs sticking to his forehead as he took deep gulps of air.

"You want a drink next?" Krok asked, foot still in the air.  He grinned at Keith.  "I'm ready for you."

"Drink it yourself," Keith snapped, baring his teeth again.

Storn eyed him, expression flat.  Then he used his own foot to overturn Keith's bowl, spilling out all the water.  "Oops.  Clumsy me.  Guess you'll have to wait till next time."

Ryou's eyes widened, though he didn't pick up his head.  If he'd been a dog, his ears would have perked.  Next time.  There was at least another day before the deal would happen, then.  Interesting.

"The Galra are very interested in what we've got here," Krok said, head tilted with glee.  "They're promising some good GAC when we produce you.  Boss is negotiating with 'em right now.  If you've got anything you want to offer, now's your time."

Chin raised, Keith looked him dead in the eye.  "Yeah, I've got one.  Your boss can take his negotiations and shove them-"

Ryou knocked his thigh hard.  "No, we don't."

"Smart one, here," Krok decided.  "You know the drill, don't you, White?"  He patted Ryou's wet hair like a pet, the movements rough enough to knock his head around.  "You two stay nice and cozy.  It'll be the last chance you get when the Galra come for you."  With that, they both, still laughing with each other in delight.

Once again, when the door was closed, Keith turned to Ryou.  "What are you doing?"

Ryou gave him a flat look back.  He shook his head hard, sending droplets of water everywhere.  "Trying to keep them from spilling both our waters," he said.  "I'd rather us be hydrated than have my dignity."  Maybe if he'd been alone, it would have been a closer contest.  Ryou cared less about his image than Shiro did, but he still didn't enjoy being toyed with and dehumanized.  But he had Keith to look after, and that meant doing what was right for both of them.

Keith's jaw tightened and his eyes hardened.

It looked like disgust.

Ryou's stomach sank as he leaned back against the wall.  It wasn't the first time Keith had thought poorly of him, anyway. He survived that for nothing but the selfish desire to stick around the castle.  He'd deal with far worse if it kept Keith safe.

Then something pressed against his shoulder.  Ryou started, nearly knocking Keith's forehead off, but he stubbornly stayed in place.  "I'm sorry," Keith murmured.  "You shouldn't have had to do that for me."

The knot unwound, leaving guilt in its place.  Maybe Ryou wasn't giving Keith enough credit.  They were at least friendly, now, and Keith had a strong sense of justice.  He wouldn't like watching anyone suffer.

"You're not used to this," Ryou replied, his own voice rough.  "You've seen people be cruel, but not this kind.  Of course you didn't know what they wanted, and of course you were disgusted.  It's horrible.  It's not your fault, so don't apologize."

Keith took a deep breath and shifted closer, so his shoulder brushed Ryou's side.  "But you're used to it."

A bitter smile crossed Ryou's face.  "Yeah.  Not all of it, but I remember the basic rules."  He leaned his head over, resting it on top of Keith's.  "Don't feel bad.  I'd rather you never have to learn them.  I don't want your first reaction to be resignation.  I can handle that, but I need you to..."  He swallowed hard.  "Don't learn these rules.  I don't want you to have picked them up from watching me."

There was a long pause.  Then, Keith gave a short nod.  "I'll try.  And I'll try to keep my mouth shut, too.  I don't know that I can do both."

"I know.  It's a hard line.  I'm sorry to ask you to do this."  Ryou pressed his eyes firmly shut, fighting back the burning sensation.  "I won't be mad if you mess up.  Just try."

Keith sighed.  "Okay."  He stayed where he was, a warm, solid presence at two points against Ryou.  "Are you okay?  I can't help you like I do Shiro.  When he has moments, I get between him and the problem.  But I can't go anywhere."

Ryou let out a bitter snort.  "It's not your job to save me from my head.  I'll survive, alright?  It's not like I can take a swing because I'm seeing something.  Worse comes to worse, I just go quiet for a bit."

"Because you're having a flashback!"  Keith picked his head up, gaze narrowed.  "My problem isn't pissing them off because you reacted badly.  My problem is keeping you safe!"

"You can't," Ryou shot back, just as heated.  "Don't try.  Keep _you_ safe.  Get back home.  That's what I want from you."

Keith's eyes glimmered darkly with something feverish.  "You're not the Black Paladin, and you're not Shiro.  I don't have to listen to you."

There was a complicated cracking feeling in Ryou's chest.  It felt simultaneously like a rejection and a pledge, and Ryou had no idea how to handle that.  "You're right.  I'm not Shiro.  I'm not the one you actually want to protect.  So just _keep your head."_

Keith reeled back from the sudden hiss.  Then he scooted away again, giving them a foot between them.  He never said anything in response, just stared stonily at the far wall.

Well, that had gone badly all at once.

Curling his knees in to his chest, Ryou took a deep breath, then let it out.

Silence held between them for a long time.

***

Not long after, the door opened.  Gralev stomped through, his lips pulled back in what would have been a snarl, if he had teeth to bare.  Instead, Ryou could see the pointed, jagged chunks of rock deeper in his mouth, like rows of stalagmites and stalactites.   Krok and Storn followed after, nearly jogging to keep up.

Looking between them both, Gralev let out a growl.  "That one," he decided, pointing to Ryou.  "Take him."

Krok stepped behind Ryou, unhooking his chain from the wall,  Then he took hold of the cuffs at his wrists and yanked them up, pulling Ryou to his feet.  "Walk," he ordered.

"Hey!"  Keith said.  He tried to get his feet under him to stand, but the chain on his arms stopped him short.  "What do you want from him?"

Ryou fixed him with a dark glare, until Keith shut his jaw with a click.

Luckily, no one was paying any mind to Keith.  Instead, Gralev stormed right back out and Ryou was dragged between Krok and Storn.

Though he kept his head down, Ryou's eyes darted around, trying to make sense of where he was.  The outer walls were made of the same metal as where he and Keith were chained up.  But the hallways was straight and flat, and both walls seemed to the be the same height.

If they were in a ship, it was a huge one.  The kind with enough money to replace parts like broken hooks, and who would be so used to prisoners they probably wouldn't immediately resort to lording over them.

Not a guarantee by any means, but enough to make an educated guess.

Maybe.

The hallway ended quickly, and Ryou was shoved into what looked like a communications room.  It was small and dingy, with lots of the parts looking rusted or well-used.  Second hand, maybe.  These guys definitely weren't flush with cash.

The nicest piece of equipment was a huge floating screen, currently on and projecting the image of a Galra woman, wearing what looked like a commander uniform.  Her yellow eyes widened and then narrowed at the sight of Ryou being lead along.

"This is your supposed paladin?"  She asked, lips pressed into a severe line.  There were bags under her eyes, and she had the tone of someone who had done this dozens of times, and had always been disappointed.  "He does not wear their colors, merely their shape."

Ryou's heart started to pound.  Project Kuron was still probably highly classified, especially since it had failed so thoroughly.   Rather than take part in the coalition building from the outside, Ryou had stuck to special effects coordination (and trying and failing to curb the worst of Coran's odd behavior).  Once or twice he'd played the part, only while wearing the Black Paladin uniform, including Shiro's helmet, and never the flying parts.

Word might not have spread everywhere  that Voltron had more paladins than the original five yet.  And to any being that didn't know human faces well, it'd be hard to pick out that Ryou's features identical to Shiro's, with the exception of the scar.  The wrong uniform and hair might be enough.

There was a chance.

Another quick dart around showed a table in the far corner.  It had a couple of frayed and well-worn bags, a spare blaster, a handful of GAC coins, and two bayards.

If he could just get to that, Ryou could turn this situation around.

"We captured them from the rest of their little group," Gralev insisted.  He shoved Ryou forward, sending him stumbling a step ahead.  "Clearly he's part of them."

"He does have the nose marking like the Black Paladin," the commander allowed, her gaze narrow.  Some of the tension bled out of her shoulders, not yet convinced but less hostile.  "What do you do?"

It took Ryou a moment to realize she was addressing him.  He picked up his head, eyes wide and scared, and swallowed hard.

 _"I do repair of ships,"_ he said, in broken, pitched-up Galran.   _"For those who come to my work.  I have never worked on the Voltron before.  The ones from the show?"_

There was a long silence.  Ryou's heart pounded until he could hear a roar in his ears.  

"He's lying!" Gralev insisted.  He reached down and caught Ryou by the neck, squeezing hard enough to cut off his air.

Ryou could work with that.  So long as the commander thought the bounty hunters were lying and wouldn't take the deal, he'd manage.  Even if they killed him, they wouldn't want to completely waste their time.  They'd keep Keith alive and try to find a new buyer.  That would take time, especially to convince them they had a genuine paladin, and then that would give the team a chance to find him.

"Wait!"  Storn suddenly said.  "We have more proof.  We have..."  He stepped over to the table and brought over the Red Bayard.  "We have this, see?"

The commander stilled.  Then her eyes narrowed again.  "Another fake?  Prove it!  Turn it into a weapon."

Storn's smirk fell off his face.  He waved it once, then turned it around in his hand, looking for a trigger.  "I don't see how!"

"For the love of-" Gralev's groaned.  "Give it to the paladin, stupid."  His fingers tightened around Ryou's throat, enough that he started to feel dizzy.  Much more and he'd be cutting off his blood flow, and he'd pass out in seconds.  "Show the commander, or you'll pay for every GAC we lose."

The bayard was shoved into Ryou's hands.  He just barely managed to keep his grip on it.

Nothing happened.

If he had the breath to laugh, Ryou might have.

They'd given him the wrong bayard, the idiots.  No doubt they didn't know they were specific, but the screw-up still made him giddy.

That might also have been the lack of air.

The commander gave a disgusted huff.  "Enough of this.  Do not bother this line with such lies again, or you will face worse than a fine."

The line went dead.

Silence rang in the room.  Ryou's vision was just starting to fade out into spots of gray when Gralev finally let go.  He took a deep breath, and started to turn around-

A hand cracked against the side of his head, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"I told you that you were going to pay," Gralev said.  He stepped closer, a looming, dark shape of solid stone above him.  "Hope it was worth it to you."

It was.

Because as the first blows hit, no one noticed that the red bayard had completely disappeared.

It took everything in Ryou to keep from smiling.

***

The next thing Ryou knew was pain.

All of him throbbed dully, a slow pulse that matched his heartbeat.  With every breath, pain flared on his side.  A familiar sensation - broken bone.

Ryou started to open his eyes, then immediately hissed.  The lights above were far too bright, driving knives into the only eye he managed to crack apart.  The other stayed shut.  From the heat and ache of it, it was swollen that way.

Under him, his pillow shifted.  The sudden movement made his head swam, and this time his stomach shifted.  "Stop," he managed, lips cracking around the word.  "Ow."

The pillow stilled obediently.  But he heard heavy breathing above him, and a hand touched his forehead.  Ryou flinched from it, anticipating more pain.  But it didn't hurt badly, so he settled back down.

"You hypocrite," Keith hissed out.  His voice sounded choked, like Gravel had him by the throat too.  "You stupid hypocrite.  All that, and you come back like this?"

Ryou tried to take a deep breath, but then let out a groan as it made something in his chest shift sickeningly.  That was definitely bad.  This place probably didn't have pods.  "Galra didn't believe 'em," he managed.  "I lied.  She thought it was a trick.  They're not buying."

There was a long silence, then Keith let out his breath all at once.  "You-"  He laughed, wet and nearly hysterical.  "Of course you did."

"Didn't want to go back."  Ryou turned, pressing his face farther into the pillow.  It was hard and curved - the armor.  He was laying in Keith's lap.

Silence again, this time guilty.  "Yeah, guess not.  I get that."  The hand on his forehead moved, brushing his bangs out of his face.  "Was it worth dying?"

"Not dead yet," Ryou said.  "If you get out?  Yeah."

The breathing above him hitched.  "Not like this.  You can't.   You're not allowed, okay?  Promise."

Ryou let out a bark of laughter, then immediately whimpered as pain punched through him.  "Promise," he managed.  "Ow."

"Okay, okay, stop.  Just breathe.  Focus on breathing and not dying."  Keith's hand left, and he heard a sniff above him.  When the fingers came back, then were slightly wet.  "You're not allowed.  Don't you dare die for me after I was so cruel to you.  I can't live with that."

"Told you," Ryou said.  He paused, his throat dry, the pain bleeding away his energy.  "Didn't want to go.  So there."

Keith hummed, not exactly believing.  "So we have some more time.  Okay.  We still can't get out, though."

Ryou's smile returned, wider than before.  He reached down and blindly patted over his thigh.  "Can.  Got your sword."

The thigh under him tensed.  "You what?"

"Landed on your bayard.  Didn't notice it poof.  Got it.  Don't get it now.  Camera."

"Oh."

The smile faded as Ryou relaxed back down.  "No ship.  I think.  You can run."

Slowly, the fingers resumed in his hair.  They followed an odd pattern, curving around the side of his head.  Belatedly, Ryou realized he was avoiding a goose egg or a wound.

Well, that meant he probably had a concussion.  Hopefully Ryou hadn't been out as long as he felt like.  That was bad, he was pretty sure.

"You bought us some time," Keith said.  "I'll figure out a plan."

Ryou hummed.  "Don't wait up."

There was no reply.

Or, if there was, Ryou was asleep before he heard it.

***

The next time Ryou woke up, it was because he was being moved.

Under him, the floor seemed to shift and buckle.  He heard a crashing sound in the distance, like something huge falling to the ground.

As he was adjusting to that, something cracked just behind him.  Ryou jolted drunkenly, trying to get away.  But pain flared, stilling him instinctively.

Then arms slid under Ryou, one under his knees and the other around his shoulder.  He was lifted up.

Ryou's vision whited out behind his eyelids.  A whimper forced out of him, even as he tried to squirm away.

"I've got you," someone murmured.  Familiar.  Keith.  "It's okay, Ryou.  I'm sorry, I have to move you, but I'm going to get you home."

Ryou stilled.  It wasn't out of understanding, but because he was exhausted.  There was no more energy to fight when it only hurt him more.

Instead he rested his head on Keith's shoulder and let himself drift away into the dark.

The last thing he was aware of was Keith's shouts and the rocking of footsteps.

***

Suddenly, it was cold.

Ryou opened his eyes with a gasp, then flinched in expected pain.  But his chest didn't throb, and none of him ached anymore.  Instead, there was the chill and wobbliness he expected from a visit in a pod.

Well, shoot.

Stepping forward into the light, Ryou felt arms wrap around him, helping hold him up.  When he pulled back, he could see Shiro there, bags under his eyes but smiling widely.

"Hey, there," Ryou greeted, cheerful as he could manage.  "You come here often?  Just kidding, we both know you're here all the damn time."

Shiro snorted, then held his finger to his lips.  "You're just as bad.  But whisper."  He nodded his head to the side.

Following his gaze, Ryou saw Keith slumped against one of the other pods.  His legs were tucked under him and his arms were wrapped around his waist, like a self-hug.  He was also dead asleep, mouth hanging open slightly as he breathed deeply.

Oh.

Warmth flooded Ryou's chest, banishing the last of the pod's chill.  "Gotcha.  How long as he been there?"

"An hour or so," Shiro murmured back.  "He's been here whenever he could be.  You gave him a scare."

There should have been built, but Ryou could only shrug.  "Yeah, I bet I did.  But it was worth it."

Shiro let out a very long sigh, but he didn't disagree. Instead, his fingers dug into the material of the pod suit, like he was just barely keeping himself from clinging.  "I believe we had a discussion about everyone coming home during missions."

Yeah, right.  Ryou glanced at him, something between amusement and scorn in his eyes.  "We both know that doesn't count when we can save a member of the team.  Don't lie to me."

There was silence at that.  Shiro's jaw worked, but he couldn't deny it.  

"You know, some days I wish I was kinder to myself," Shiro finally said.  "I wonder if you would be too."

Ryou pulled Shiro into a hug, then knocked his fist gently into his chest.  "Nope.  You are not responsible for how I treat myself.  I'm me."

"I know."  Shiro grabbed Ryou's playful fist and unwound it, locking their fingers together instead.  It was just for a quick squeeze, then he let it go, but Ryou could still feel the warmth.  "But I already broke in a brother.  I don't want you to undo all my hard work."

"I'll do my best."  Ryou smiled at him, then stretched.  "Okay, you should get Keith to his room.  He can't be comfortable like that."

Shiro's brows rose, his gaze challenging.  "Do it yourself.  It's not me he needs to see right now."

Probably fair.

Ryou broke away from Shiro with a last pat to his shoulder.  Then he knelt down next to Keith and gave him a gentle shake.  "Hey, Sleeping Beauty.  You're drooling on the pod."

Keith woke with his usual start, going from dead asleep to wide awake in an instant.  His eyes focused on Ryou, and then he let out a bone-deep sigh.  "You lived."

"Sorry to disappoint."

Immediately, Keith punched Ryou in the shoulder.  Hard.  "Don't!  Don't you-"  He blinked rapidly, and it took Ryou a moment to realize that Keith looked like he wanted to cry.  Over _him._

Or maybe it was that thing where Keith cried when he yelled.  That would also work.

But, no.  Ryou couldn't look at Keith's face and write this off.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, dropping his hand into his lap.  "It was just a joke.  They come out sometimes."  Shiro hid behind professionalism, Ryou hid behind levity.  Neither were meant to hurt, but sometimes they still managed.

Keith nodded, the temper falling away from his face.  "I thought you were going to die while I carried you."

Oh.  Oh, _Keith._

Immediately, Ryou pulled him into a hug.  "I'm sorry," he murmured.  "I didn't. I'm okay.  You got me out of there, right?  I don't really remember, but..."

"We found you and landed around the facility," Shiro answered, quiet and rough.  "We were just getting out of the lions when Keith carried you and the yellow bayard out."

"See?  Told you."  Ryou pet Keith's hair, for lack of anything better to do with his hands.  "I'm okay thanks to you.  Now you deserve an actual bed.  I have the feeling it's late."  Otherwise the rest of the team would definitely be milling around and making a huge scene.

Keith nodded against his chest, then pulled back.  He hurriedly wiped under his eyes and cleared his throat.  "I can walk."

"Mmm, I owe you one, though."

Shiro cleared his throat.  "You just got out of the pod.  You aren't even supposed to walk alone yet."

Right, dammit.

Ryou groaned dramatically.  "Okay, IOU.  But at some point you're getting carried.  I don't like debts."

"You're ridiculous."  But Keith was smiling as he pushed himself to his feet, then offered Ryou a hand up.  "Thank you.  By the way.  I didn't say, and I'm still kinda mad at you, but... thank you."

Ryou beamed back, all that warmth flooding back into him.  "Anytime."

Keith's gaze went stony.  "Or never."

Yeah, right.  But Ryou smiled back anyway, which wasn't an answer at all.  Then he turned and held out his arms dramatically.  "Big brother, take me to my room.  Piggyback?"

Shiro rolled his eyes, but then actually offered his shoulder.  "You serious?"

"I wasn't, but I can't believe you're actually saying yes."  Ryou beamed.  "I'm taking you up on that."

It took a little doing to get Ryou on Shiro's back and stable.  But then the three of them started down the hall, Keith still yawning every minute or so.

Ryou was dropped off in front of his door, then pulled into a last tight squeeze by Shiro.  When he was let go, Keith was holding out his hand like he wanted Ryou to take it.  But then he clenched the fingers, brow furrowing.  "We need our own thing."

This time, the warmth in Ryou's chest made him feel like he was going to float off the ground.  Not the clasp-hug that Keith and Shiro did, but something for them.

He liked the idea.  A lot.

For now, he knocked his fist into Keith's accidental one.  "We'll work on it in the morning."

"Yeah.  Go rest."

"You too."  Ryou watched them go, Shiro's hand automatically landing between Keith's shoulder blades when he stumbled.  Then, smiling, he turned inside.

Be their very nature, Ryou's relationships with the team were complicated, tangled things.  It was difficult to sort out the remainder of Shiro's feelings for people with his own, and downright impossible to divorce Shiro's histories from the friendships he was building.

But today, it felt like he was doing a good job.


	7. Shiro

There as something particularly annoying about waking up from nightmares that didn't technically belong to him.

Ryou roamed the halls of the castle, listening to his bare feet smack against the cold metal and tracing the endless pale lines with his eyes.  It all helped remind him of where he was - and who he was.  He wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, trying to banish a creeping, remembered chill.

It was a familiar sensation.  Ryou - Shiro - had spent dozens of nights this way, curled in a cell with his back to the corner.  The Galra kept their ships cooler than what humans would find comfortable, owing to their thick scales and pelts.  With nothing to occupy his mind in the long, dark hours of the night cycle, Shiro had spent far too much time thinking about the cold.

While the castle was kept at a much more comfortable temperature, there were still nights that Ryou couldn't quite shake the shivers.  It was only in the dead of night, or after a particularly deep dream.

Now, it also reminded him of that icy planet, of a night curled against the bare remains of a fire, inside the bones of some long-dead great beast.  Of being terrifyingly sure he was going to die on a barren, lifeless ice planet, either from exposure or because of the soon-to-be infected wound on his leg.  Or of being in that tiny Galra ship, life support giving out, red lights flashing, heat draining away as he slowly lost consciousness.

Ryou didn't like the cold, much.

The inner rooms of the castle as always warmer than the outer ones.  Ryou wandered deeper in, winding down long hallways until he found himself in the engine room.  Even with his new, slowly growing specialization, Ryou didn't understand much about the functions in here.  Coran and Pidge had both tried to explain it to him without much success.  At some point, he'd try to get Hunk to do the same.  Pidge wasn't great at breaking down concepts into ways other people could understand, throwing around technical terms and huge ideas like they were basic algebra.  Coran could, but his own way of thinking about technology was undeniably alien, often relying on metaphors that Ryou couldn't hope to untangle.  Hunk was better at it than both of them.

There was also the possibility that Ryou just couldn't wrap his head around the workings of this room.  That it was just beyond his mental capabilities.  After all, his background wasn't in engineering or programming.  He wasn't a genius the way the Holts and Hunk were.  He just did his best from half-remembered Garrison basics and the patchwork understanding he gained day by day.

Right now, though, that didn't matter.

All that mattered was that the engine room was very warm.

Ryou sat on the edge next to the console, letting his legs dangle down the many-story drop below.  Vaguely, he thought about whatever had happened to Haxus' corpse.  As far as he knew, no one was down there.  The castle had some automated cleaning functions, but he had no idea how it would function with a body, especially one that had to have ended up so... thoroughly ended.

"This cannot be OSHA certified," he muttered, just to hear his own voice.  Then Ryou flopped backward, laying out on the metal grating and staring up at the huge, glowing column of power in front of him.

Allura helped power it, somehow. 

Ryou couldn't comprehend having that much power.  He didn't even match Shiro's quintessence, much less something like this.  This was Haggar's power level.

Part of that scared him.  Allura's powers were so much like Haggar's, from his limited understanding.  He had seen the kind of pain and destruction that Haggar could wield, how she controlled her monsters and gave powers to those she favored, destruction to those she didn't.

Allura wasn't like that.  But, then, Ryou had heard about the alternate Altea, and the Empresses that Allura had become.

It was all idle thought.  Ryou didn't really fear Allura, not in the light of day, not to her face.  There, she approved of him doting on Coran, or watched sports broadcasts, or tried to learn human concepts from corny movies.  When he was face to face with Allura, he could only adore her.

Here, he could see her from another perspective.  The way he'd seen her, if only for a moment, that first day he was not-Shiro.  When her staff had slammed down next to his head, and she'd coolly told him that if it came to that, she would put him down, and that she had the power to do that.

Despite everything, Ryou still couldn't always shake those first impressions.  The reactions they'd had to  _ him _ and not to Shiro.  Ryou never blamed them for them, not considering the situation.  He’d thought they’d finally left him alone, overwhelmed by more recent, positive memories.  

Not tonight, it seemed.  The chill brought back old thoughts.

A noise started Ryou out of his thoughts.  He glanced up through his bangs, watching the upside-doors open and someone step out.

It was Shiro.  

Ryou sat up and turned around, just as Shiro started.

"Sorry," Shiro said.  "I didn't realize anyone was here. I'll-"  Then he paused, frowning.  "What are you doing here?"

"Warm," Ryou replied simply.  "Why are you here?"

"Warm," Shiro agreed, his smile thin.  "I guess you know why better than me.  I just woke up like this."

Without answering, Ryou lifted one side of the blanket.

Shiro hesitated.  Then he slowly stepped forward and sat beside Ryou.  Once he was settled, Ryou tossed half the blanket over his shoulders, then scooted in so their shoulders were pressed firmly together.  Shiro took the end and curled it around them, so they were both as covered as possible.

Then they sat.

"Do you remember what you dreamed about?" Ryou asked.

"Do you remember why I'm cold when I have nightmares?"

Ryou sighed.  "I do.  But do you want to hear it now?  You really think that's a good idea?"

There was a sullen silence in return.  Shiro tugged on the edge of the blanket, like he was threatening to pull it away.  "Probably not," he finally admitted.  "I didn't even dream of any memories.  Or maybe-memories.  I just woke up cold anyway.  I usually do."

Ryou nodded, his eyes closed.  "I know.  I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

There was another long pause, where the only sound was their breathing and the hum of the engine.

Finally, Shiro leaned more firmly against Ryou.  "What about you?  Do you remember your dream?"

"I do," Ryou said.  "It was something I remember.  Nothing special, even."

Shiro sighed.  "It doesn't need to be special.  All of it was bad, from the fights to the little moments.  The dehumanization scarred just as badly as the wounds."

There was nothing Ryou could say to that.  He nodded and pressed his thigh flush with Shiro's.  "Yeah."  

"I'm sorry."  

Ryou froze, then pulled back enough to look over Shiro's face.  His eyes were focused down the drop in front of him, and the bags under his eyes looked even darker now that he was so close.  "Why?"

Shiro shrugged.  "They're my memories, right?  My nightmares.  I'm sorry you have to deal with that.  You said you wished you didn't remember anymore, and I wish Haggar had just... picked certain memories.  Not dumped it all on you."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want the memories Haggar handpicked.  That sounds like a bad idea.  More like 'how can Haggar creatively twist your perceptions into being a bastard.'"

Shiro suddenly shivered, and his eyes slammed shut.  "Yeah."

Now that was a strong reaction.

"Shiro.  Hey.  What's wrong?  You can talk to me about it."

Shiro shook his head.  "No, I shouldn't.  It's- it's not fair, that you want me to dump on you, but you can't do the same.  I don't like it."

"Oh, please," Ryou said, rolling his eyes.  "If you don't want to tell me, then fine.  I get it.  But don't use me as an excuse.  It is what it is, and none of this is your fault for being captured and tortured.  You didn't decide to go through all that, you didn't decide to make me, and you didn't decide to dump all your thoughts in my brain.  But now I'm another person who gets it, so if you want to talk about it, you can."

Finally, Shiro met his eyes.  His shoulders slumped.  "It was just a nightmare.  But it'd be cruel to tell you."

Ryou's stomach dropped.  "Oh.  Was it about me?"

All of Shiro tensed up.  But it wasn't you-guessed-it-oh-no tense, it was I-didn't-even-think-of-that tense.  "No!  Hell no.  Not that at all."  Shiro shook his head and rubbed his free hand under his eye.  "No.  It was- different from that."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Ryou said quietly.  "For the record.  It's a dream, that doesn't mean you think I'm going to stab you all in the back."  Despite that, there was a low throb in his stomach, like the acid was leaking out and poisoning his body.  It really wouldn't be mad, but he still hated the thought.

Shiro shook his head.  "It wasn't that at all, I promise.  It was- well.  Me.  Doing that."  He ran his fingers through his bangs, then gripped them tightly like he was about to pull.  "I dreamt there was something wrong with my arm like yours.  But it completely took me over and I acted wrong.  I was acting like Sendak did, when he got on the ship.  Trying to hunt people down and... and torturing them."  His eyes slammed shut and his breathing quickened.  "It wasn't you.  It was me.  I hurt you."

Oh.

Ryou's heart ached in his chest, like Shiro's words had bruised it.  "Hey.  You haven't hurt anyone."

"We both know that's a lie."

True.  "You haven't hurt anyone on this castle," he amended.  "And those you've hurt either deserved it, or you did it because there was a gun to your head.  That's not the same thing.  And, Shiro?  If something happened to your arm, we'd know it and we'd help you.  All of us can take you."

Shiro shrugged.  "No one beats me in sparring," he reminded, voice soft.

"Yeah, 'cause you fought us one on one."  Ryou brought up both his fists like they were about to engage in fisticuffs, letting his side of the blanket hang loose.  "All of us together?  Hell, Allura and Pidge alone could take you down.  And if we gave Lance, like, tranq darts?  You'd be toast.  Don't get cocky, brother dear."

There was a reluctant pull at the corner of Shiro's shoulder.  "Good luck with that.  You're probably right.  But I'd be really fighting.  Really, really fighting."

"So would I," Ryou admitted.  "I know you'd rather be hurt than hurt someone else.  If it came to it, even if everyone else held back, I wouldn't.  I know I've kind of fell behind you in fighting.  My focus has been elsewhere, rather than all the training you do.  But I could do it."

Shiro took a watery breath, then nodded.  "Thank you.  I appreciate that."

Dropping his arms, Ryou gave Shiro a moment.  But finally he spoke.  "Can I ask a question?"

"Depends on the question," Shiro muttered.  "But sure.  What do you want to know?"

"Why haven't you let Hunk and Pidge change out your arm?"

Shiro went silent.

He stayed that way for a minute, and then two.  Ryou opened his mouth, then shut it again.  He hadn't been told to fuck off yet, so he'd give Shiro time, if he needed it.

Finally, Shiro sighed.  "I should."

"That's not what I asked."

Shiro jerked himself sideways, knocking into Ryou.  "Shush.  Fine, no, it's not.  I know it's probably the right thing to do.  There's are safer, and yours proves we don't really know what Haggar has baked into them.  But I don't want to have to readjust to a new one.  I don't want to have to wait around with a cap over my arm, or with one of the low-tech ones they have on board.  I don't want..."  Shiro sighed.  "You don't use yours as much.  You use shields or your bayard more than I do.  You go for quick weaknesses, not chase after them like I do."

A flat laugh escaped Ryou.  "You think that's because of the arm?"  When Shiro nodded, Ryou snorted.  "No.  It's not.  Well, it's related, but..."  He clenched his metal fingers into a fist, watching the play of light off the pale, Altean plating.  "I'm not as strong as you.  In terms of energy.  These things run of our quintessence, and mine is... smaller.  We know that's true, because I can't use Black.  I don't use it a lot, because I know I don't have as much to give.  I could probably afford to use it more, but I don't want to chance it giving out at a necessary moment."

Shiro stared at his arm as well, eyes wide.  "Oh.  I didn't realize."

"Yeah.  If only you'd thought to ask, genius."

"I didn't think you'd want to talk about it!"  Shiro scrubbed over his face.  "You get so down when you lose in training.  I didn't think you'd appreciate me pointing out your weaknesses at times like that.  And you wouldn't want me bringing it up to anyone else, either, and it wasn't hurting missions.  There's so much you've adjusted to, I just thought it was one more thing you were working through.  You do it well, so I was just... going to wait till it was less raw."

That made a gross amount of sense.  Ryou's stomach twisted, mortified that Shiro had noticed how often he was upset.  That was supposed to be hidden, behind smiles or bluster or whatever else Ryou threw up.

Then again, Ryou could see through when Shiro tried to hide what was bothering him, behind the Black Paladin mask or otherwise.  Maybe it was only fair.

Didn't mean he liked it.

"Fine.  Well, you got it half right.  I'm just weaker than you.  So you don't get to use it as an excuse anymore.  Yeah, I had to spend a few days without an arm, or with the simple hand.  But it only took a little while and then I had the shiny new Altean one.  It'll take them even less time, since they don't have to totally build it from scratch.  Then we'll match again."

"Yeah, like you want to match."  Shiro's eyes darted up to Ryou's dyed hair.  "You've got roots, you know."

Ryou slapped a hand over the top of his hair, scowling.  "My hair grows fast.  Your stupid fault.  I'm fixing it tomorrow."  Slowly, he let his hand fall back in his lap.  "I don’t buy that, tough.  It’s not just because of me, not when you can ask them about making it stronger.  So why, Shiro?"

Shiro looked away again.  "Because, even if I don't remember a lot, I remember getting the arm hurt.  A lot.  I do so much for the sake of the team, even when I don't want to.  That's part of being their leader.  But this one, I've stalled out on.  It’s a stupid reason, but I- I can’t do that again."

Heart clenching, Ryou leaned further into Shiro’s side.  There were so few times that Shiro put up barriers and said no.  If he could, Ryou would back off right now and never pick it up again.  But he couldn’t, not when something could be lurking in that arm to hurt him.  Hurt the team.  Ryou had been flip about the possibility before, but if Shiro turned against his will, it would be very, very messy.  If someone got hurt, could Shiro ever forgive himself for that?

"It didn't hurt this time," Ryou said gently.  "I was sleep for all of it.  I woke up and I felt better.  The arm you have isn't kind.  The Altean one was made with care.  At the time, care for you more than me."

Shiro shot him a dark look.  "They care about you.  Don't do that."

"Now they do," Ryou said.  "Then?  Not as much.  Lance did, maybe, and Pidge at least thought I was interesting and worth knowing.  Hunk, though?  He didn't do it for me, not those days.  Coran didn't either.  It was a practice run for you, in the end.  You just have to say the word."

"That's a shitty way to think of yourself."

"I try to be honest about myself, Shiro.   I have to be, after everything."

There was nothing Shiro could say to that, so he went quiet.  Instead, his free arm snaked around Ryou's, locking them together.  "I'm scared," he finally said.  "It's a change.  This is the devil I know.  I don't want to compromise everything.  I need this arm.  I can't do what I do without it."

Ryou leaned his head over, pressing the side of his scalp against Shiro's.  "Your worth isn't determined by what you can do.  I know you don't believe me, but it's not.  Even if you didn't have the arm and just wandered around the castle all day doing nothing at all, you'd still be valuable.  If nothing else, you'd still be my brother."

There was a quiet hitch, like Shiro's breath caught in his throat.  "You don't say that a lot, you know."

"Brother?"  Ryou raised his brows, though he didn't turn to look at Shiro.  "I say it all the time."

Shiro shook his head, rubbing against Ryou in the process.  "No, you don't.  Not seriously.  It's 'brother dear' or 'bro' or ways you make it a joke."

Well, that was true.  Ryou shrugged one shoulder.  "Yeah, I guess so.  I know we decided on being family, but it's still not normal for us.  Joking is a way to say it out loud that's less... pointed.  Real.  It just is.  I don't mean it mockingly.  It's more than you say it, anyway."

"True.  You seem to have an easier time saying things like that than I do.  Even in jest."  Shiro glanced over.  "Doesn't mean I don't feel it.  It's true, that it's not a simple thing to say.  It doesn't roll off my tongue naturally.  But it's there."

Ryou nodded.  "Maybe it's something we both need to work on.  Or we can just... let it come as it does."

"I'd like that."

Eyes closed, Ryou smiled.  "Thank you, by the way.  For trusting me with your nightmare."

Shiro shrugged.  "You understand.  I seemed thoughtless to say it to you when you experienced it, if not in the same way.  But you helped a lot."

"I try."  Ryou settled in closer, until they were nearly flush.  "The nice part of having a clone.  And if that arm stuff ever happens to me again?  Just bring me back here, then it's as simple as one good push."

There was a ringing, painful silence after his joke.  Then there Shiro's hands hit Ryou's chest hard, sending him sprawling back onto the metal flooring.  Shiro was over him in an instant, eyes narrowed and bright with fury.  "Don't say that to me."

Ryou stared up, eyes wide with shock.  "It was a joke!  And I meant if I got all mind-controlled again.  Not right now!"

"I don't care!  Don't say that shit to me."  Shiro grabbed Ryou by his pajama top and yanked him with surprising force.  "Less than a week ago, I saw Keith carrying you out after you were kidnapped, and I thought you were dead!  Your face was a mess, and you were so pale, and there was blood everywhere."  His breathing hitched, and Shiro leaned forward, collapsing in on himself.  "The look on his face... I was so sure you were dead.  Then you weren't, but Coran didn't know you were going to live at first, and I got you back but I might have lost you again anyway.  And tonight, I dreamed I was the one that hurt you.  That I beat your face in and broke your ribs and you wouldn't fight back and hurt me.  Don't... don't joke.  Not about that.  Not right now."  A shake ran through Shiro, a vibration not unlike the slight rattle that Coran had wanted to fix the other day.  Like the old pieces of Shiro were about to break apart completely from one good hit.

Ryou's heart broke.

He pulled Shiro in against him, holding him tightly against his chest.  "I'm sorry," he said, rocking them both.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way.  I didn't know, Shiro.  You wouldn't, you've never hurt me.  I'm fine, and I'm alive, and I'm right here.  It's okay."

The shudder ran through Shiro again, a terrible convulsion.  "Don't die," he choked out.  "I like having family.  Don't die."

"I'm not going to," Ryou said.  And it was a lie, probably, but he was a liar.  When it came to his family, his friends, his team, Ryou was a  _ goddamn liar, _ all to make them happy.  He'd wear that badge with pride.  "I'm here.  We're twins now, we're brothers, and we're going to look out for each other.  We promised.  Nothing's going to hurt that."

Shiro nodded, suddenly silent like he was holding his breath.  Probably trying to bite back his emotions.  Ryou smoothed up and down Shiro's back, not calling him on it.  It wasn't an insult, it wasn't that Shiro didn't trust Ryou enough to cry in front of him.  It was how his brother was.  He never let himself loose, not all the way.

Someday, maybe.  When they finally had all the space and time in the universe, maybe Shiro could find a way to unravel himself enough.  But for now, Ryou would protect his brother's comforts and habits, even the ones he didn't always like.

"I'm here," he murmured.  "I won't let that happen."  Then, quietly, haltingly.  "I love you."

Shiro's breath escaped in one harsh cough.  He nodded, and didn't speak, but his fingers hooked in the fabric of Ryou's pajama shirt.  Clinging, the same desperate motion as when Ryou had stepped out of the pod.

It meant 'I love you' just as much as the words.  Maybe more.  

Slowly, Shiro's breath evened back out.  He slumped against Ryou's chest, his fingers finally releasing their tight grip on Ryou's shirt.  "Sorry," Shiro managed.  "I shouldn't have exploded on you like that.  Or shoved you."

"It was a really shitty joke," Ryou said.  "I'm sorry.  I should have known better.  I'd have punched someone who suggested I should kill you in the same circumstances."

Shiro picked his head head.  Then he made a loose fist and gently bumped it against Ryou's jaw, barely enough to move his head.  "Done."

"Ha ha."  Ryou sat up, pushing Shiro along with him.  But he didn't drop his arm, leaving it loosely around Shiro's chest.  "C'mon, we should head back to bed.  If we can get a couple more hours, that's better performance in the morning."

As if on cue, Shiro yawned.

Ryou yawned back instantly, and Shiro visibly had to bite back a second yawn.

Apparently it was extra contagious when the person looked nearly identical.  Huh.  Fun fact.

"Good luck with that," Shiro finally replied.  "But yes, it's worth a shot.  Come on." He stood, and offered his hand to Ryou.  

First, Ryou bundled up his blanket.  Then he took the offered help, climbing to his feet.  "If you want..." He paused, not sure if Shiro would appreciate the offer or not.  Then he bulldozed through anyway, because why not try?  "If you want, you can crash with me.  If we're both not going to sleep, at least we're not alone in empty rooms.  And it'll be warmer with another person."

"You sure?" Shiro asked.  "What if...?"  He mimed taking a swing with his metal arm.

Ryou arched a brow.  "I just told you I can take you.  If literally anyone in the universe is prepared for how we wake up, it's us."

For a moment, Shiro stared him down, and Ryou was certain he was going to back down.  But then he nodded.  "Alright.  It's not the worst idea."

"Really?"  The cry earned Ryou a raised brow.  His cheeks went pink.  "I expected you to brush me off.  You know you usually would."

Shiro shrugged.  "Maybe.  But, honestly?  You're right, you can handle me.  And it'd help, if the dream happens again.  If you're right there and you're okay."

"Glad to be of assistance," Ryou replied.  For a moment he was tempted to offer his hand, like they were the little kids they'd never been together.  But that was a step too far for both of them, so instead he gestured for Shiro to lead the way.  "I sleep shirtless.  That going to bug you?"

"Oh no, a chest just like mine.  Call the Vatican."

Ryou snorted and elbowed him.  "You just proved my sense of humor's genetic.  Good job with that.  But really, that going to bother you?"

Shiro rolled his eyes.  "I'm going to keep my eyes shut for most of it, and we'll be under a blanket.  So, no.  And it's your chest.  Do with it what you want."

It was a suspiciously easy answer, but Ryou accepted it anyway.  Shiro deserved that much. So he put his pad to the console to open it - a useless security measure if there ever was one, considering the main next to him.  And the people he lived with.  Then he gestured for Shiro to come inside.  Once the door was closed, he pulled off his shirt and watched Shiro from the corner of his eyes.

No reaction.  Shiro just sat down on the side of the bed and waited for Ryou to get in first.

Fair enough.

Settling in on his preferred side, because it was his goddamn bed, Ryou flipped the covers up just like he had the blanket earlier.  Shiro squirmed in.  One he was still, Ryou ordered the lights off.

It was a little weird.  Ryou admitted that freely.  He wasn't used to sharing a room, outside of the cells from early in his captivity.  Shiro wasn't either, as an only child until his 20s..

Despite that, Shiro's breathing evened out quickly.  Just minutes after, Ryou drifted off as well.

He had no more dreams that night.

***

Ryou woke to quiet murmurs.

"Just leave them alone," someone said, barely over a hiss.  

"He's right, " someone else added.  "It feels weird in here.  This is Ryou's private space."

"I'm in here all the time.  It's fine. And we had a legitimate reason!  They're never late."

"Shhh!"  There was a quiet grunt of pain, probably as someone was elbowed.  "You're going to wake them."

"It's pretty cute, you have to admit."

"I'm satisfied that they were not harmed or in trouble.   Keith is correct, we should leave them be before they wake."

Ryou groaned.  "Too fucking late," he growled.  Opening one eye, he focused a tired glare on the team, who were all crowded in front of his bedroom door, not quite stepping in.  "The hell do you want?"

Everyone on the team except Matt had the grace to look ashamed of themselves.  He just grinned and waved.  "You didn't show up at breakfast, and no one was using the training room.  We were afraid you'd gotten up to something stupid."  Matt held up Pidge's phone, then tapped on the screen.  "Aaand saved forever."

Something under Ryou's arm shifted.  It took him a moment to realize it was Shiro, who was tucked under Ryou's chin. 

Barely cracking his eyes open, Shiro stared them all down. "Matt, you have five seconds to  _ run." _

Matt let out a yelp and smacked the door console.  It shut firmly, and there was the sound of footsteps.

"You befriended him," Ryou accused, flopping right back down on the pillow.  "Your fault."

"You encourage him," Shiro shot back.  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, not bothering to move his head from Ryou’s shoulder.  "What happened to your goddamn alarm?"

Ryou snorted.  "Your stupid internal clock normally wakes me up hours earlier.  I don't bother.  Your fault again."  He stuck his nose into Shiro’s hair, because it was there and in the way of his face.  If Shiro didn’t like it, he could get up.

Shiro jammed his fingers into Ryou's side, but didn't verbally argue.  Instead, he settled back down.  "Ten more minutes."

That sounded good to Ryou.  He closed his eyes as well, tightening his grip on Shiro.  The metal arm flopped over his chest in return, thankfully warm from the blanket and their mixed body heat.

Ten more minutes sounded very good.


End file.
